An evaluation of security measures implemented to address physical threats to water infrastructure in the state of Mississippi

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 49
Author(s):  
Jason R. Barrett, PhD Candidate ◽  
P. Edward French, PhD
Keyword(s):  
Local Governments ◽  
Distribution Systems ◽  
Water Distribution ◽  
Critical Infrastructure ◽  
The United States ◽  
Water Systems ◽  
Cyber Attacks ◽  
Fiscal Year ◽  
Water Supply Systems ◽  
Security Measures

The events of September 11, 2001, increased and intensified domestic preparedness efforts in the United States against terrorism and other threats. The heightened focus on protecting this nation’s critical infrastructure included legislation requiring implementation of extensive new security measures to better defend water supply systems against physical, chemical/ biological, and cyber attacks. In response, municipal officials have implemented numerous safeguards to reduce the vulnerability of these systems to purposeful intrusions including ongoing vulnerability assessments, extensive personnel training, and highly detailed emergency response and communication plans. This study evaluates fiscal year 2010 annual compliance assessments of public water systems with security measures that were implemented by Mississippi’s Department of Health as a response to federal requirements to address these potential terrorist threats to water distribution systems. The results show that 20 percent of the water systems in this state had at least one security violation on their 2010 Capacity Development Assessment, and continued perseverance from local governments is needed to enhance the resiliency and robustness of these systems against physical threats.

Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division Experience With Aging of Electric, Gas, and Water Systems

1993 ◽  
Vol 46 (5) ◽  
pp. 183-186
Author(s):  
Charles Pickel
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Customer Satisfaction ◽  
Distribution Systems ◽  
Water Distribution ◽  
Water Distribution Systems ◽  
The United States ◽  
Water Systems ◽  
Recent Survey ◽  
Effective Manner ◽  
Long Life

Electric, gas and water distribution systems can have an extremely long life when properly designed, installed and maintained. MLGW is proof positive that aging distribution systems can be managed in an effective manner. Customer satisfaction is a high priority with Division management. According to a recent survey, Memphians enjoy the lowest average monthly utility bills among the 25 largest cities in the United States.

scholarly journals Resilience Assessment of Water Quality Sensor Designs under Cyber-Physical Attacks

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 647
Author(s):  
Dionysios Nikolopoulos ◽  
Avi Ostfeld ◽  
Elad Salomons ◽  
Christos Makropoulos
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Monitoring System ◽  
Vulnerability Assessment ◽  
Water Distribution ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Critical Infrastructure ◽  
Distribution Networks ◽  
Cyber Attacks ◽  
Security Measures ◽  
Sensor Placement Optimization

Water distribution networks (WDNs) are critical infrastructure for the welfare of society. Due to their spatial extent and difficulties in deployment of security measures, they are vulnerable to threat scenarios that include the rising concern of cyber-physical attacks. To protect WDNs against different kinds of water contamination, it is customary to deploy water quality (WQ) monitoring sensors. Cyber-attacks on the monitoring system that employs WQ sensors combined with deliberate contamination events via backflow attacks can lead to severe disruptions to water delivery or even potentially fatal consequences for consumers. As such, the water sector is in immediate need of tools and methodologies that can support cyber-physical quality attack simulation and vulnerability assessment of the WQ monitoring system under such attacks. In this study we demonstrate a novel methodology to assess the resilience of placement schemes generated with the Threat Ensemble Vulnerability Assessment and Sensor Placement Optimization Tool (TEVA-SPOT) and evaluated under cyber-physical attacks simulated using the stress-testing platform RISKNOUGHT, using multidimensional metrics and resilience profile graphs. The results of this study show that some sensor designs are inherently more resilient than others, and this trait can be exploited in risk management practices.

scholarly journals MUWS (Microbiology in Urban Water Systems) – an interdisciplinary approach to study microbial communities in urban water systems

2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 91-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Deines ◽  
R. Sekar ◽  
H. S. Jensen ◽  
S. Tait ◽  
J. B. Boxall ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Ecology ◽  
Distribution Systems ◽  
Water Distribution ◽  
Potable Water ◽  
Water Distribution Systems ◽  
Water Systems ◽  
Urban Water ◽  
Infrastructure Systems ◽  
Urban Water Systems ◽  
Sewer Networks

Abstract. Microbiology in Urban Water Systems (MUWS) is an integrated project, which aims to characterize the microorganisms found in both potable water distribution systems and sewer networks. These large infrastructure systems have a major impact on our quality of life, and despite the importance of these systems as major components of the water cycle, little is known about their microbial ecology. Potable water distribution systems and sewer networks are both large, highly interconnected, dynamic, subject to time and varying inputs and demands, and difficult to control. Their performance also faces increasing loading due to increasing urbanization and longer-term environmental changes. Therefore, understanding the link between microbial ecology and any potential impacts on short or long-term engineering performance within urban water infrastructure systems is important. By combining the strengths and research expertise of civil-, biochemical engineers and molecular microbial ecologists, we ultimately aim to link microbial community abundance, diversity and function to physical and engineering variables so that novel insights into the performance and management of both water distribution systems and sewer networks can be explored. By presenting the details and principals behind the molecular microbiological techniques that we use, this paper demonstrates the potential of an integrated approach to better understand how urban water system function, and so meet future challenges.

Cyber Threat Ransomware and Marketing to Networked Consumers

2020 ◽  
pp. 155-185
Author(s):  
Usman Javed Butt ◽  
Maysam F. Abbod ◽  
Arvind Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Critical Infrastructure ◽  
Computer Systems ◽  
Cyber Attacks ◽  
Competitive Market ◽  
Cyber Attack ◽  
Security Measures ◽  
Global Competitiveness ◽  
Modern Computer ◽  
Water Cleaning ◽  
Cyber Threat

Marketing is a process of creating, capturing, and exchanging ‘value' for the mutual benefits of marketers, customers, intermediaries, and other stakeholders. Such a transaction requires trust as it might be facing a range of online cyber risks. Modern cybercrimes have exponentially grown over the last decade. Ransomware is one of the types of malware which is the result of a sophisticated attempt to compromise the modern computer systems. The businesses, governments, and large corporations are investing heavily to combat this cyber threat against their critical infrastructure. New technological shifts help to improve marketing and business productivity and keep the company's global competitiveness in an overflowing competitive market. However, the businesses and the systems involved need security measures to protect integrity and availability which will help avoid any malfunctioning to their operations due to the cyber-attacks. There have been several cyber-attack incidents on several businesses such as healthcare, pharmaceutical, water cleaning, and energy sector.

scholarly journals Trihalomethanes formation in Iranian water supply systems: predicting and modeling

2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 859-869 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Akbar Babaei ◽  
Leila Atari ◽  
Mehdi Ahmadi ◽  
Kambiz Ahmadiangali ◽  
Mirzaman Zamanzadeh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Water Temperature ◽  
Distribution Systems ◽  
Water Distribution ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Multiple Linear Regression Model ◽  
Residual Chlorine ◽  
Water Supply Systems ◽  
Drinking Water Distribution Systems ◽  
Bromide Ion

Trihalomethanes (THMs) were the first disinfection by-products discovered in drinking water and are classified as probable carcinogens. This study measures and models THMs formation at two drinking water distribution systems (WDS1 and WDS2) in Ahvaz City, Iran. The investigation was based on field-scale investigations and an intensive 36-week sampling program, from January to September 2011. The results showed total THM concentrations in the range 17.4–174.8 μg/L and 18.9–99.5 μg/L in WDS1 and WDS2, respectively. Except in a few cases, the THM concentrations in WDS1 and WDS2 were lower than the maximum contaminant level values. Using two-tailed Pearson correlation test, the water temperature, dissolved organic carbon, UV254, bromide ion (Br−), free residual chlorine, and chlorine dose were identified as the significant parameters for THMs formation in WDS2. Water temperature was the only significant parameter for THMs formation in WDS1. Based on the correlation results, a predictive model for THMs formation was developed using a multiple regression approach. A multiple linear regression model showed the best fit according to the coefficients of determination (R2) obtained for WDS1 (R2 = 0.47) and WDS2 (R2 = 0.54). Further correlation studies and analysis focusing on THMs formation are necessary to assess THMs concentration using the predictive models.

scholarly journals Burst Detection in Water Distribution Systems: The Issue of Dataset Collection

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (22) ◽  
pp. 8219
Author(s):  
Andrea Menapace ◽  
Ariele Zanfei ◽  
Manuel Felicetti ◽  
Diego Avesani ◽  
Maurizio Righetti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Supply ◽  
Water Consumption ◽  
Distribution System ◽  
Smart Grids ◽  
Distribution Systems ◽  
Water Distribution ◽  
Stochastic Modelling ◽  
Water Supply Systems ◽  
Consumption Data ◽  
Supply Systems

Developing data-driven models for bursts detection is currently a demanding challenge for efficient and sustainable management of water supply systems. The main limit in the progress of these models lies in the large amount of accurate data required. The aim is to present a methodology for the generation of reliable data, which are fundamental to train anomaly detection models and set alarms. Thus, the results of the proposed methodology is to provide suitable water consumption data. The presented procedure consists of stochastic modelling of water request and hydraulic pipes bursts simulation to yield suitable synthetic time series of flow rates, for instance, inlet flows of district metered areas and small water supply systems. The water request is obtained through the superimposition of different components, such as the daily, the weekly, and the yearly trends jointly with a random normal distributed component based on the consumption mean and variance, and the number of users aggregation. The resulting request is implemented into the hydraulic model of the distribution system, also embedding background leaks and bursts using a pressure-driven approach with both concentrated and distributed demand schemes. This work seeks to close the gap in the field of synthetic generation of drinking water consumption data, by establishing a proper dedicated methodology that aims to support future water smart grids.

scholarly journals Legionella pneumophila and Protozoan Hosts: Implications for the Control of Hospital and Potable Water Systems

Pathogens ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Atif Nisar ◽  
Kirstin E. Ross ◽  
Melissa H. Brown ◽  
Richard Bentham ◽  
Harriet Whiley
Keyword(s):  
Legionella Pneumophila ◽  
Distribution Systems ◽  
Water Distribution ◽  
Potable Water ◽  
Water Systems ◽  
Water Disinfection ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Waterborne Pathogen ◽  
Microbial Biofilms ◽  
Pontiac Fever

Legionella pneumophila is an opportunistic waterborne pathogen of public health concern. It is the causative agent of Legionnaires’ disease (LD) and Pontiac fever and is ubiquitous in manufactured water systems, where protozoan hosts and complex microbial communities provide protection from disinfection procedures. This review collates the literature describing interactions between L. pneumophila and protozoan hosts in hospital and municipal potable water distribution systems. The effectiveness of currently available water disinfection protocols to control L. pneumophila and its protozoan hosts is explored. The studies identified in this systematic literature review demonstrated the failure of common disinfection procedures to achieve long term elimination of L. pneumophila and protozoan hosts from potable water. It has been demonstrated that protozoan hosts facilitate the intracellular replication and packaging of viable L. pneumophila in infectious vesicles; whereas, cyst-forming protozoans provide protection from prolonged environmental stress. Disinfection procedures and protozoan hosts also facilitate biogenesis of viable but non-culturable (VBNC) L. pneumophila which have been shown to be highly resistant to many water disinfection protocols. In conclusion, a better understanding of L. pneumophila-protozoan interactions and the structure of complex microbial biofilms is required for the improved management of L. pneumophila and the prevention of LD.

Fungi from Potable Water: Interaction with Chlorine and Engineering Effects

1988 ◽  
Vol 20 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 153-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
William D. Rosenzweig ◽  
Wesley O. Pipes
Keyword(s):  
Water Samples ◽  
Distribution Systems ◽  
Water Distribution ◽  
Potable Water ◽  
Fungal Spores ◽  
Water Distribution Systems ◽  
Water Systems ◽  
Storage Tanks ◽  
Water Interaction ◽  
Low Concentrations

In recent years various types of imperfect fungi have been isolated from water systems. Fungal spores and mycelia can be inactivated by low concentrations of chlorine in the laboratory but survive in some habitats in water distribution systems. This report describes a field study which provides evidence that some types of fungi are able to grow in water distribution systems. Replicate samples from private residences were used to demonstrate that fungal densities are sometimes much greater than the levels which could be explained by adventitious spores. The microbiological content of water samples from fire hydrants was often significantly different from that of water samples from nearby private residences. The treated water input to distribution systems was found to be significantly lower in fungus content than water from private residences. Elevated storage tanks open to the atmosphere appear to be significant sources of fungal input to some systems.

scholarly journals Multiobjective contaminant response modeling for water distribution systems security

2008 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 267-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ami Preis ◽  
Avi Ostfeld
Keyword(s):  
Distribution Systems ◽  
Water Distribution ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Water Distribution Systems ◽  
Evolutionary Model ◽  
Water Supply Systems ◽  
Nsga Ii ◽  
Drinking Water Distribution Systems ◽  
Conflicting Objectives ◽  
Operational Activities

Following the events of 9/11/2001 in the US, the world public awareness to possible terrorist attacks on water supply systems has increased significantly. The security of drinking water distribution systems has become a foremost concern around the globe. Water distribution systems are spatially diverse and thus are inherently vulnerable to intentional contamination intrusions. In this study, a multiobjective optimization evolutionary model for enhancing the response against deliberate contamination intrusions into water distribution systems is developed and demonstrated. Two conflicting objectives are explored: (1) minimization of the contaminant mass consumed following detection, versus (2) minimization of the number of operational activities required to contain and flush the contaminant out of the system (i.e. number of valves closure and hydrants opening). Such a model is aimed at directing quantitative response actions in opposition to the conservative approach of entire shutdown of the system until flushing and cleaning is completed. The developed model employs the multiobjective Non-Dominated Sorted Genetic Algorithm–II (NSGA-II) scheme, and is demonstrated using two example applications.

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