Essay On Conservation Of Our Nation's Water

SAFETY OF OUR NATION’S WATER

The following paper explain the water system, how it may be vulnerable to intentional acts, and the actions taken and research done to better protect and improve the water system infrastructure.

Water is essential to life and it is obvious that an adequate supply of clean portable water is essential not only for personal health but also for maintaining the nation’s economic wellbeing. One of our greatest engineering accomplishments of the twentieth century was the development of our nation’s water systems which includes;

1. The water supply system (including reservoirs, dams, rivers, aquifer systems, and water wells).

2. The water treatment system

3. The water distribution system.

Since the sad events of September

The first two attributes can be directly influenced by physical damage. The third attribute can be affected by physical events as well as accidental or intentional introduction of microbes, biotoxins, chemicals, or radioactive materials.

The idea that drinking water utilities could be the target of sabotage or terrorism has been acknowledged by the US Justice Department over the year. Just prior to the outbreak of World War II, former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover (1941) wrote the following statement in an article published in the Journal American Water Works Association (JAWWA) entitled “Water Supply Facilities and National Defense”:

“It has long been recognized that among public utilities, water supply facilities offer a particularly vulnerable point of attack to the foreign agent, due to the strategic position they occupy in keeping the wheels of industry turning and in preserving the health and morale of the American populace. Obviously, it is essential that our water supply facilities be afforded the utmost protection.”

Years later, following the terrorist attacks of 2001, FBI Director Robert Mueller (2003) made a similar