Case Study 2 - Medium Gulf Coast Wastewater Authority
MWWA is a medium-sized regional wastewater authority providing services to several small communities on the American gulf coast. Continuity of service is a major issue for the communities served by MWWA not only because of the needs of their citizens but also to support the regional economy, which is largely based on tourism. The region has witnessed the devastation caused by numerous flooding events and hurricanes in past years.
Members of the Authority’s governing board carefully considered these needs when thinking about subscribing to WaterISAC Pro. They understood that WaterISAC is a fundamental resource for all concerned with water and wastewater utility security and continuity of service. They reviewed WaterISAC Pro core services: Notifications, Threat Estimates, Contaminant Databases, Emergency Contacts and Resources Lists, but focused on two other areas when making their decision.
First, WaterISAC understood and appreciated the vital importance of wastewater infrastructure. In fact, a recent review of over 3,000 documents in the Internet accessible library found that more than half had substantially high relevance to wastewater systems. A search on the word "wastewater" on the WaterISAC secure site returns documents with such titles as:
- GAO Report – Securing Wastewater Facilities
- Wastewater Facilities Experts Views on How Federal Funds Should be Used to Improve Security
- Wastewater Threat Document
- Wastewater Emergency Response Plan Guidance
- Analyzing Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Interdependencies
Second, members of the governing board greatly appreciated the fact that WaterISAC was not one-dimensional. It embraces an "all-risk" approach. Ready access to Official Use Only information on hurricane impact scenarios for their area was of particular interest, as was background on forming local mutual assistance networks.
