Posted on 06/25/2015 2:48:32 PM PDT by BenLurkin
Contamination of a reservoir with a biological agent would not likely produce a large risk to public health because of the dilution effect.... A massive amount of contaminant would be required for a successful terrorist attack at this point. If agents were to be introduced at this point they are likely to be detected and unlikely to survive the chlorination process. Even so, filtration and disinfection of the water may occur down stream mitigating the contamination. However, if the point contamination is after a treatment facility where filters, chlorination and other preventative measures would no longer be effective, the likelihood of success is much greater. Fortunately, this type of act is still subject to the dilution issue which would lessen the severity of such an attack. There are scenarios that have been discussed where the likelihood of success is high and for obvious reasons we will not go into any further details about those specific scenarios.
The Threat Attacks on the nation's water supply can come in many forms. Contamination from chemical or biological agents or merely disruption to the processing, filtration and distribution are two types of attacks. The primary threats to the nation's drinking water supplies are contamination by chemical, biological or radiological agents; damage, destruction, or sabotage of physical infrastructure; and disruption to computer systems.
...
Rapid detection and quantification of a chemical or biological attack on a water supply is difficult at best. Organizations responsible for water distribution systems have increased the physical security of each of facilities. However, one in-ground holding tank had a padlock on the door leading to the water contained in the tank. A simple pair of bolt cutters could have defeated that security.
(Excerpt) Read more at directionsmag.com ...
Good luck with that Sisyphian task.
It’s so easy to do it’s ridiculous! I just retired from 30 years as the head of a small, 350 connections, water company. Flush valves and hydrants are the easiest way to contaminate a system. And that’s after treatment. There’s still chlorine in the water, but a big enough dose of bad stuff? Kill a lot of people!
Look what happened in Portland OR, when someone peed in 38-million-gallon reservoir....
Water will be poisoned some day and the democrats will wail and gnash their teeth that the republicans cut some budget and they are to blame.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.