Security for small water systems:
NETCSC, NDWC, NTEC provide free workshops

To help small drinking water systems improve their security and emergency response practices, the National Environmental Training Center for Small Communities (NETCSC) is partnering with the National Drinking Water
Clearinghouse (NDWC) and the National Tribal Environmental Council (NTEC) to offer free train-the-trainer workshops around the country through November 2003.

The workshops—“Security Improvements for Small Water Systems”—are designed for trainers and technical assistance providers from state, regional, and local agencies that help small water systems. During the two-day sessions, participants learn how to conduct a vulnerability assessment (VA), develop and/or update an emergency response plan (ERP), implement measures to improve water system security, and use existing security resources to train others.

“We are glad to join with the NDWC to provide the training needed to build the capacity to assist states, communities, and tribes in improving water system security,” says John Hoornbeek, NETCSC director.

Funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the training will help small communities meet the requirements set forth in the “Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002.” Under this new law, drinking water systems serving 3,300 to 50,000 residents are required to perform and submit VAs to EPA by June 2004 and then develop or update an ERP that incorporates the results of the VA no later than six months after completing the VA.

EPA addresses small system needs

EPA understands that small water systems face many of the same security issues as larger systems, but they may encounter greater challenges in finding appropriate assistance. To develop the resources needed to help these systems, earlier this year the agency allocated $1.5 million in grants to five different assistance organizations with the goal of developing a national pool of expert trainers and technical assistance providers to help state, tribal, and local agencies reduce the vulnerability of drinking water systems to terrorist attacks and to enhance their security and ability to respond to emergency situations.


Ron Thomson, acting director of water programs for the National Tribal Environmental Council , conducts a "Security Improvements for Small Water Systems" workshop in Rapid City, South Dakota. Photo courtesy or Ron Thompson.

“This training effort is designed to help communities improve security and ERP capabilities as well as enable them to meet the requirements of the Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act,” says Hoornbeek. “The goal is to help states create the ability to train folks on security and ERP issues.”

In addition to NETCSC and NDWC, the Maryland Center for Environmental Training (MCET), the National Rural Water Association (NRWA), the Rural Community Assistance Program (RCAP), and the Water Environment Federation (WEF) also received EPA funding to develop and/or offer security training workshops around the country. Both RCAP and MCET have made arrangements to use NETCSC materials during the course of their trainings. (See pages 4 and 5 for schedule of remaining training sessions from all of these organizations. The full training schedule for each organization is available at www.asdwa.org).

NETCSC training focuses on smaller communities

According to Hoornbeek, the workshops offered by NETCSC, NDWC, and NTEC are geared specifically toward the needs of small systems—those serving 10,000 or fewer residents. Eleven workshops are offered with some oriented toward states and communities and others oriented toward tribal audiences. The NETCSC/NDWC workshops are based on course materials drawn from NETCSC’s newly developed curriculum module for local officials and assistance providers, Preparing for the Unexpected: Security for Small Drinking Water Systems, and the NDWC’s curriculum for operations personnel, Small Drinking Water System Security.
The NETCSC/NDWC workshops cover the
following topics:

• consequences of security breaches, natural disasters, and other emergencies;
• regulations related to VAs, security, and ERPs;
• strategies for conducting VAs;
• measures, policies, and procedures to improve security and preparedness; and
• emergency response planning and preparedness.

“Workshop participants will acquire knowledge and resources so they may help others improve system security and comply with the Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act,” says Hoornbeek. “They will also receive materials designed to help them educate others about safety and security issues.”

Trainers for the workshop series include Christopher King, C.E.T., a NETCSC associate and director of the Center for Environmental Education and Training at the St. Louis University School of Public Health in Missouri; Lorene Lindsay, C.E.T., a NETCSC associate and president of Silver Springs Environmental Services, Inc., in Raytown, Missouri; and Paul Torok, a rural development specialist with the Midwest Assistance Program in Montana.

At press time, state and community workshops have already been held in Denver, Colorado; San Diego, California; and Kansas City, Missouri. Sessions for Tallahassee, Florida, and Manchester, New Hampshire, are scheduled for October and November. (See box on this page for a list of remaining training dates.)

State and community sessions are being presented in cooperation with the St. Louis University School of Public Health’s Center for Environmental Education and Training, the National Environmental Health Association, the California Department of Health Services, U.S. EPA Region 7, the Florida Rural Water Association, and the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission.

Workshops assist tribes with security issues

According to Hoornbeek, six of NETCSC/ NDWC’s workshops are targeted toward those who assist tribes with small water systems, including tribal training centers, technical assistance providers working with tribes, and larger tribal drinking water systems.

These workshops are co-sponsored by NTEC, an organization representing 171 tribal nations that seeks to enhance each tribe’s ability to protect, preserve, and promote wise management of environmental resources for current and future generations.

Tribal training workshops were held in Washington, Maine, South Dakota, Mississippi, and New Mexico between July and early September. Another tribal workshop is set for September 30 to October 1 in Anchorage, Alaska. (To register for this workshop, contact Sindee Lou Thomson at (916) 215-1736 or sindeelouthomson@netscape.net.)

“Our workshops have been well received,” says Ron Thomson, acting director of NTEC water programs and senior consultant with Thomson & Associates in Roseville, California. Attendees have included a wide array of tribal assistance providers, including tribal council members, fire department staff, casino water operations personnel, tribal security/police officers, water system managers and operations staff, consultants who work with tribal communities, RCAP and NRWA technical assistance providers, and representatives from the Indian Health Services and the Bureau of Reclamation.

“The comments we have received from participants have been favorable,” says Thomson. “At the end of the workshop, attendees are equipped with the tools and resources to train others on conducting a vulnerability assessment. They should understand the federal regulations concerning the assessment process and know how to prepare for the internal and external threats to their tribal drinking water system. They should also know how to prepare or update an emergency response plan that can mitigate, lessen, or delay any threats to the tribal water supply.”

Trainers for the tribal workshop series include Ron Thomson; Michael Connolly, a Campo tribal member and president of Laguna Resource Services, Inc., in California; and Jerry Pardilla, a tribal member from the Penobscot Nation and tribal trainer from Anchorage, Alaska.