Water Security and Emergency Response
Water utilities are at the front lines of preparing for, responding to, and recovering from natural disasters and man-made threats. Increased resilience is a major objective of all critical infrastructure. All sectors are vulnerable if water and wastewater service is compromised.
WEF offers technical resources to assist with water security and emergency response and resilience. Additionally, WEF has a Safety, Cyber and Infrastructure Security Committee that develops, recommends, and conducts programs to promote a general understanding of safety and security issues within and across critical infrastructure sectors.
WEF is a member of the Water Sector Coordinating Council, which allows for collaboration and communication with federal agencies regarding both physical security and cybersecurity issues.
The Water Sector Coordinating Council released the report, Water and Wastewater Systems Cybersecurity 2021 State of the Sector.
"This voluntary, anonymous survey was distributed to utilities across the country by the nation’s water and wastewater associations. 606 respondents from water and wastewater utilities of all sizes completed the survey. The results represent a first-of-its-kind snapshot of the Water and Wastewater Systems Sector’s cybersecurity status." See the full press release.
WSCC Cybersecurity 2021
State of the Sector Report
Get Involved
As a membership organization, WEF understands the value of member engagement and using the collective knowledge of an entire profession to further its mission of improving water quality around the world.
WEF members participate in WEF committee activities, developing conference programs, writing technical manuals and books, developing training materials and program content, and many other WEF program activities.
WEF committee members interact through conference calls, at conferences, and via WEF's Online Community.
Additional Resources
U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS):
- Water and Wastewater Systems Sector-Specific Plan
- National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP)
- National Response Framework (NRF)
- Presidential Policy Directive 21 (PPD-21): Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience
U.S. Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST):
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA):
- Water Security Division
- Homeland Security Research
- Climate Resilience Evaluation & Awareness Tool (CREAT)
- Community Based Water Resiliency (CBWR)
- Federal Disaster Funding for Utilities (Fed FUNDS)
- Tabletop Exercise Tool for Water Systems (TTX Tool)
- Vulnerability Self-Assessment Tool (VSAT)
- Water Contaminant Information Tool (WCIT)
- Water Health and Economic Analysis Tool (WHEAT)
- Water Laboratory Alliance (WLA) Training Center
- Roadmap to a Secure and Resilient Water Sector
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
- Department of Health and Human Services (HHS): Assistant Secretary for Preparedness & Response
- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality: Public Health Emergency Preparedness
Center for Disease Control and Prevention
- Drinking Water
- Water-Related Emergencies and Outbreaks
- Global Water, Sanitation, & Hygiene (WASH)
- Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response (OPHPR): Water-Related Activities
- The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational Safety & Health Administration
- Permit-required confined spaces (29 CFR 1910.146)
- Personal Protective Equipment(29 CFR Part 1910.132)
- Hazard Communication (29 CFR Part 1910.1200)
- Head Protection (29 CFR 1910.135 (a)(1))
- Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Chemicals in Laboratories (29 CFR 1910.1450)
- Occupational Foot Protection (29 CFR 1910.136)
- Respiratory Protection (29 CFR 1910.134)
- Process Safety Management of Highly Hazardous Chemicals Standard (29 CFR 1910.119)
Related Areas
