2015 Water and Wastewater Sector-Specific Plan

The 2015 Water and Wastewater Sector-Specific Plan is a national sectoral plan of the United States of America. Its main objective is a secure and resilient drinking water and wastewater infrastructure that provides clean and safe water as an integral part of daily life – assuring the economic vitality of and public confidence in the Nation’s drinking water and wastewater service through a layered defense of effective preparedness and security practices in which physical and cyber critical infrastructure remain secure and resilient, with vulnerabilities reduced, consequences minimized, threats identified and disrupted, and response and recovery hastened.
More specifically, it aims to sustain protection of public health and the environment; encourage integration of both physical and cyber security concepts into daily business operations at utilities to foster a security culture; evaluate and develop surveillance, monitoring, warning, and response capabilities to recognize and address all-hazards risks at Water and Wastewater Sector systems that affect public health and economic viability; develop a nationwide laboratory network for water quality protection that integrates Federal and state laboratory resources and uses standardized diagnostic protocols and procedures, or develop a supporting laboratory network capable of analyzing threats to water quality; recognize and reduce risk; Improve identification of vulnerabilities based on knowledge and best available information, with the intent of increasing the Sector’s overall protection posture; Improve identification of potential threats through knowledge base and communications—with the intent of increasing overall protection posture of the Sector; Identify and refine public health and economic impact consequences of manmade or natural incidents to improve utility risk assessments and enhance the Sector’s overall protection posture; maintain a resilient infrastructure; emphasize continuity of drinking water and wastewater services as it pertains to utility emergency preparedness, response, and recovery planning; explore and expand implementation of mutual aid agreements/compacts in the Water and Wastewater Sector by encouraging utilities to join their state WARN. The Sector has significantly enhanced its resilience through agreements among utilities and states; increasing the number and scope of these will further enhance resilience; identify and implement key response and recovery strategies. Response and recovery from an incident in the Sector will be crucial to maintaining public health and confidence; increase understanding of how the Sector is interdependent with other critical infrastructure sectors. Sectors such as Healthcare and Public Health and Emergency Services are largely dependent on the Water and Wastewater Sector for their continuity of operations, while the Water and Wastewater Sector is dependent on sectors such as Chemical or Energy for continuity of its operations; increase communication, outreach, and public confidence; Communicate with the public about the level of protection and resilience in the Water and Wastewater Sector and provide outreach to ensure the public’s ability to be prepared for and respond to a natural disaster or manmade incident; enhance communication and coordination among utilities and federal, state, and local officials and agencies to provide information about threats by utilizing WaterISAC and other information sharing networks; and improve relationships among all Water and Wastewater Sector partners through a strong public–private partnership characterized by trusted relationships.