A new report released on July 11 by a presidential advisory council examines several key challenges affecting the resilience of water and wastewater systems and identifies actions federal agencies can take to better support sector resilience. The report – Water Sector Resilience: Final Report and Recommendations – was produced by the National Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIAC), which advises the President on issues of critical infrastructure sectors, specifically their physical assets, operational systems and cyber networks.
In preparing the report, the NIAC considered the sector’s key operational aspects, risks and critical interdependencies, as well as current resilience practices, challenges and indicators of progress. The NIAC’s primary source of information was an 18-member study group led by National Association of Clean Water Agencies President Adel Hagekhalil and AMWA CEO Diane VanDe Hei, the study group’s chair and vice-chair. The study group interviewed or consulted more than 70 subject matter experts to develop its findings and conclusions, which are included as Appendix D of the report.
The report acknowledges the many challenges the sector faces, which are well-known to those who work in water and wastewater utilities. These include aging infrastructure, under investment, insufficient valuation of services and fragmented, weak federal support for resilience. In addition, it recognizes the poor understanding of the criticality of water and wastewater services by the government and other sectors in relation to disaster planning, prevention and response. The report also identifies water and wastewater services affordability as a cornerstone resilience issue.
In light of these challenges, the Council identifies five recommendations and 18 specific activities the federal government can perform to support these recommendations. The five recommendations are:
-
Analyze and map the complex risks of major water disruptions and develop mitigations;
-
Fortify water sector response and recovery capabilities;
-
Increase federal funding, investment and incentives to improve water infrastructure resilience;
-
Increase technical and financial resources and expertise available to the sector; and
-
Strengthen federal leadership, coordination and support for water sector resilience.
The report also makes several references to Flint, Michigan, acknowledging that while the lead contamination in Flint was not a direct result of infrastructure failure and therefore beyond the project’s scope, the crisis underscores the fact that critical infrastructure, including water, is in need of tremendous renewal and significantly increased investment. “Flint provides a stark example of what can happen to distort decision-making when resources are inadequate to do the job,” the report states.
Regardless of whether this or future Administrations implement any of its recommendations, the report will be an authoritative reference for sector efforts to gain federal support in improving resilience.