Addressing Cyber and Physical Risks in Modern Utility Security
In early January, residents of Charleston, W. Va., found that their tap water had a licorice smell and a strong aftertaste, and it resulted in a number of people reporting a variety of ailments.
In early January, residents of Charleston, W. Va., found that their tap water had a licorice smell and a strong aftertaste, and it resulted in a number of people reporting a variety of ailments. A coal-washing chemical from a nearby plant had leaked from a 35,000-gallon storage tank into the Elk River, and residents were warned not to drink, cook with, or bathe in tap water. Weeks after the bans were lifted, there was still a deep distrust of tap water, and one health department official reported that 95 percent of residents he had spoken to were still not using it.
“This was an accident that highlights the need for greater information-sharing and notification,” says Kevin Morley, Security & Preparedness Program Manager for the American Water Works Association. “There is the opportunity to observe risks that may be outside the domain of your control, but the key to any response action is rapid notification and closing gaps in the system of laws and regulations that, taken together, should protect our water supplies.”