Since September 11, 2001, many people in the U.S. have speculated about the vulnerability of water resources to terrorist attack. At times, the concern had reached a near panic situation when some genuine domestic terrorists attacked or planned to attack water resources in places around the world. Films have built on this concern through several impossible scenarios that spur some into believing that the U.S. water supply is hopelessly vulnerable—a plotline lacking in credibility.
You may also like: Top 10 Doctorate Degrees in Emergency Management Online
What Types of Waters are Possibly Vulnerable in the U.S.?
There are two types of waters important to the U.S. economy and health. The largest bodies of water are ocean waters which, if needed, can be distilled into potable water. Thee waters lie along the whole of the east and west coast of the U.S. as well as along the north, western, and southern coast of Alaska, and, of course, surrounding the island state of Hawaii. Freshwater is in abundance in the U.S. Major rivers are dammed to create reservoirs from which large communities gain water access for their population. Many smaller rivers and even streams are dammed to form reservoirs as well. In the Central U.S., large aquifers provide a significant portion of fresh potable water.
Are Ocean Waters Vulnerable?
Since it is nearly impossible to purposely poison ocean waters with biological or chemical agents along a substantial length of the coast, the vulnerability found along coastal areas is with oil pollution. The first indication of this vulnerability was the Exxon Valdes incident in 1989 that polluted vast swaths of the Alaskan coastline. According to the Geotimes, oil production off the North Slope of Alaska has consistently fulfilled 20% of U.S. demand every year since it was initially drilled in 1977. Other oil rigs are popping up everywhere along the U.S. coastlines as oil prices look to be high in the future. In 2010 the Deepwater Horizon incident spilled huge amounts of oil into the Gulf of Mexico damaging the ecosystem, fishing, and shell-fish industries for years to come. As of yet, there are no safeguards against terrorist attacks on either of these possible targets. A terrorist bent on harming the U.S. can affect huge areas of the U.S. by destroying oil concentrations.
Is Fresh Water Vulnerable?
As Peter Gleick pointed out in a terrorist assessment published in the Pacific Institute, the likelihood of a terrorist attack on U.S. water supplies is small. First, chemical or biological agents must reach a large concentration in a water supply to be a tactical option for terrorists. A reservoir tainted with a barrel of cyanide or a biological agent almost cleans itself. Further, the laws for freshwater purification in the U.S. have effectively blocked such attacks via the chlorination process. Few toxic agents could get through this process and sensors that detect the presence of foreign substances were required after 2002. The principal concern is for the aquifers which may be polluted by breaks in oil pipelines.
What Level of Vulnerability Exists?
Of the U.S. waters, the most vulnerable are the seas where a coordinated attack on several tankers and oil rigs, such as that seen on September 11, 2001, at the Trade Center, could pollute a significant section of the coastline. There is no doubt that water in and around the U.S. is vulnerable to terrorist attack. The real question is whether such an attack could be effective.