U.S. Water News Online
SALT LAKE CITY -- Utah's water systems are vulnerable to sabotage, those familiar with the state's drinking water say.
The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks has heightened fears about safety during the upcoming Winter Olympics.
``If these (terrorists) are as smart as we assume they are, there are opportunities for them to gain access to water systems and cause problems. I don't think anyone can control it at this point,'' said Kevin Carter, director of the Utah Division of Water Quality.
There are about 500 water systems in the state which serve 85 percent of the population.
``If someone desperately wanted to do something (to the water), I don't know what you could do to stop them,'' said David Ovard, general manager of the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District, which supplies an average of 70 million gallons of drinking water to more than half a million people in Salt Lake County.
The district recently completed a study to bolster its security for the Olympics, but now officials wonder whether the new measures will be enough.
``We were all thinking that we'd probably be okay during the Olympics, and then this (Sept. 11 attack) happened and caused us to realize we can't be too careful,'' said David Ovard, Jordan Valley's general manager.
Jordan Valley -- whose system includes a 180-million-gallon-per-day water treatment plant and a 1 million gallon treated-water reservoir -- plans to spend more than $230,000 on additional fencing, locks and electronic surveillance equipment before the Olympics.
The district also plans to close the water treatment plant to tours, increase patrols of all facilities, and weld manhole covers shut to prevent tampering.
Salt Lake City, whose drinking water system serves about 400,000 people, also has studied its water security and plans to take similar measures, said Jeff Niermeyer, deputy director of public works.
The idea behind the security measures is to keep terrorists from introducing contaminants into water supply components such as reservoirs, streams, water treatment plants, and pipelines.
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