Water security

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havasu

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Living in a community with municipal water, my biggest concern is some terrorist organization utilizing this as their prime source of transmission to infect entire neighborhoods and sometimes, complete cities, with mass casualty results. I know my city lacks adequate protection, no security cameras, and usually a little key is the only item needed to infiltrate and poison our water supply.

How does a little guy like me mention this to our elected officials without sounding like a terrorist myself?
 
Lets say.... a couple teenagers with rattle cans of paint broke in and tagged everything with graffiti. Would such a small act of vandalism wake the city fathers up to the apparent dangers? How far would it have to go before they acted?

The feds like to hand out cash... Do they offer advice and freebies to small communities trying to secure vulnerable infrastructure? Put all the city leaders on their mailing lists for starters. Or the mailing list of companies who supply security type equipment for water sources.

Sometimes moving a heavy object only requires a little pressure... applied properly.

Making people listen can be difficult... but they love to act when they think it's their idea.
 
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The sheer volumes involved in municipal water supplies make it very difficult to poison them, :)
Studies have been done in the past where even some very toxic substance's were unable to create a harmful concentration.
I'd be more concerned about a blackout shutting down the municipal water supply (the sole reason why have water stashed at my current residence)
 
The sheer volumes involved in municipal water supplies make it very difficult to poison them, :)
Studies have been done in the past where even some very toxic substance's were unable to create a harmful concentration.
I'd be more concerned about a blackout shutting down the municipal water supply (the sole reason why have water stashed at my current residence)
Yes, and the most important part is, after purification the water is under pressure, and that pressure is constantly monitored. Samples are taken and tested every hour to insure purity. So it is basically impossible to 'dump' a 5-gallon bucket of 'whatever' into the water going to customers. The only way the water could be in danger of being contaminated is if pressure is lost.
Down here we have experience with that.
Ask any Cajun if they have ever been under a 'boil water advisory' and they will say yes. (This actually means "don't consume any public water until we issue an all-clear").
Only if pressure is lost in the system is it possible for contamination to back-flow into the system.
We are always prepared for that. Before every hurricane there is the predictable run on bottled water.
The stores here are prepared and have pallets of it parked out in front of the store.
Almost none of it gets used so everyone here ends up with a closet piled full of bottled water.
 
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I’ve wondered about water source security too, but I don’t know what is the current status of my city’s security supply. Under lock and key I’m pretty certain.
There used to be more “boil water” advisories in my district, usually when lake waters are low.
 

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