Legislation addresses water supply safety

The Water Infrastructure Security and Research Development Act of 2001 was introduced in both the House and the Senate today. U.S. Representative Sherwood Boehlert (R-N.Y.) and U.S. Senator Jim Jeffords (I-Vt.) spearheaded the legislation, which authorizes funding for research on water supply protection.

Each of the bills authorizes $12 million per year (from 2002 through 2007) for the USEPA. The money would be used to provide grants to public and private non-profit entities to conduct research and development projects. Projects could include efforts to prevent, detect or respond to physical and cyber threats to water supply or wastewater treatment systems.

The Act was introduced more than a week after USEPAÕs statement that the possibility of successful contamination of a water system is small. “It would take large amounts of contaminants to threaten the safety of a city water system,” USEPA Administrator Christie Whitman said in a visit to the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission Consolidated Laboratory. “Because of increased security at water reservoirs and other facilities around the country Ñ and because people are being extra vigilant as well Ñ we believe it would be very difficult for anyone to introduce the quantities needed to contaminate an entire system.”