Analysis of the U.S. Water Infrastructure from a Security Perspective

Abstract

The U.S. National Security Strategy for Homeland Security identifies the U.S. water infrastructure as one of the nation's critical infrastructures. Experts and several reports to Congress point out the vulnerabilities of domestic water supply and distribution systems to terrorism and the ramifications of a successful attack. Starting in the late 1990s the federal government implemented a host of actions intended to protect domestic water supplies. Despite these efforts critical vulnerabilities remain within the water infrastructure especially in understanding threat vulnerabilities in developing long-term federal funding strategies in appropriate information-sharing and in incorporating technologies. This paper analyzes the nation's water infrastructure reviews relevant threat vulnerabilities and explores needed responses by federal state and local governments and private industry authorities. This paper identifies open strategic issues needing immediate attention and provides recommendations for a unified comprehensive strategy to address the security concerns within the U.S. water infrastructure.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 15, 2006
Accession Number
ADA449651

Entities

People

  • Paul L. Grosskruger

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Cyber
  • Engineered Resilient Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Congress
  • Control Systems
  • Department Of Homeland Security
  • Disasters
  • Emergency Response
  • Environmental Protection
  • Homeland Security
  • Law
  • Local Governments
  • National Governments
  • National Security
  • Public Health
  • Security
  • Terrorism
  • United States
  • War Colleges
  • Warning Systems

Readers

  • Government and Public Administration Law.
  • Irregular Warfare and Special Operations Cyberspace Operations against Adversarial Threats.
  • Organizational Process Management (OPM).