City Sewer Systems Vulnerable to Terrorism

While large buildings and major infrastructure have received much of the counter-terrorism attention, experts point out that officials may be overlooking a serious threat to security: city sewer systems, according to a 1 June Chicago Tribune article. “Sewer pipes form a vast underground network that can provide a terrorist with access to many public buildings, urban centers, private businesses, residential neighborhoods, military installations and transportation systems,” according to Rep. John Duncan (R-TN), chairman of the House Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee. The Tribune reported that America’s sewer systems comprise 800,000 miles of tunnels and 16,000 wastewater treatment plants. Bud Schardein, executive director of the Metropolitan Sewer District in Louisville, Kentucky, said, “We have sewers as much as 22 feet in diameter. You could drive a locomotive through there.” Schardein also pointed out that while terrorists may have difficulty breaking into buildings downtown, they could more readily access the city’s sewer system to transport dangerous materials and bombs that can be used to blow up any building. An attack on a wastewater treatment plant, which holds large quantities of chemicals, could cause major public health problems and paralyze a city.

ANALYSIS: Despite increased attention by local, state, and federal officials, experts warn that it is impossible to fully secure the nation's sewer systems. Legislation is currently moving through Congress which would provide $200 million to help cities identify vulnerabilities in their wastewater treatment facilities, the Tribune reported. The bill would also pay for such upgrades as securing sewer entry points and installing video cameras and fences, according to the report. One EPA official told the paper, “You don’t have to secure every inch of the system,” only the “priority points where if something happened it would be catastrophic.”

Source: Intellibridge