Security and Sustainable Design

The ancients considered security as one of the critical aspects of the design and construction of their water systems. There are many examples such as the Peisistratean aqueduct in Athens. This aqueduct was built underground not exposing the aqueduct. The eleven aqueducts of Rome were almost entirely under the surface ground as listed in Table 11.1. A combination and balance of smaller scale (wells and cisterns) and the larger-scale water supply measures were used by the ancient Minoans, Greeks, and Romans.

The security of water supply is also a modern day concern around the world, from the viewpoint of both an adequate water supply and the possibility of terrorist activity on our water supply systems. The three obvious attributes of a water supply system are: (a) there must be adequate quantities of water on demand; (b) it must be delivered at sufficient pressure; and (c) it must be safe to use. The first two are influenced by physical damage and the third attribute (water quality) is susceptible to physical damage as well as the introduction of microorganisms, toxins, chemicals or radioactive materials. Actions (terrorist activities) can be debilitating for the water supply system. Because water systems are spatially diverse and many of the system components such as tanks and pumps are located in isolated locations, they have

Table 11.1 Rome’s Aqueducts (after Fahlbusch, 1987)

Inherent potential to be vulnerable to a variety of threats that would compromise the delivery of safe water. The areas of vulnerability include: the raw water source, raw water channels and pipelines, raw water reservoirs, water treatment facilities, connections to the water distribution system, pump stations and valves, and finished water tanks and reservoirs.

Since the September 11, 2001 events in the U. S.A., the security of water supply (in particular water distribution systems) has become a major issue of concern. Basically our water supply systems have not been designed and constructed using sustainable design procedures that consider security as one of the design principles, even though the Greeks and Romans dealt with this concern in their water systems. A distribution system of pipelines, pipes, storage tanks, and the appurtenances such as various types of valves, meters, etc. offers the greatest opportunity for terrorism because it is extensive, relatively unprotected and accessible, and often isolated. Not only the physical destruction of a water distribution system’s assets of the disruption of water supply is possible as was the case for the Greeks and Romans, but during our modern time we must also be concerned with the possible introduction of biological and/or chemical contaminants and the disruption of the operation (cyber threats) of the systems. Mays (2004) presented details on the threats categorized as physical threats, chemical threats, biological threats, and cyber threats.