The Evil That Lurks Below
a prime delivery system for a lot of nasty stuff
Do you ever think much about sewer systems unless there is a problem? Sewer systems are a necessity and requirement of cities, but when was the last time you related sewer to homeland security?
Don’t discount their importance so quickly, there certainly is a nexus to homeland security. But first, let’s take a look at some facts and attributes of sewer systems in general.
In the early days of the nation, sewerage was not a big deal, and it used to flow freely in the streets. It wasn’t until illness and disease began to break out and the correlation was made between sickness and sanitation. According to some history sources, the District of Columbia has some of the oldest systems in America, beginning with rudimentary attempts in 1810. Around 1859, the importance of sewer systems increased even further- right around the time of the Civil War. There was a huge increase of populations becoming sick from cholera, typhoid, dysentery, and malaria. The government stepped in at this time to begin development of major sewer systems in the DC area. The evolution of sewer systems still continues today, where their importance is critical and undeniable.
More modern systems can be seen in Los Angeles, California. This city has a prime example of monolithic infrastructure running beneath every street. LA public works reports they have approximately 6,700 miles of sewer pipeline strewn beneath the city! If that were a straight line, it would run the length from LA to New York, and back, and still have enough to run north to Seattle, Washington. That is a tremendous amount of infrastructure to maintain and worry about. 400 million gallons per day flow beneath Los Angeles alone!
The question becomes, why should we worry about sewer systems from a homeland security perspective?
If we did not have sewerage systems, the environmental impacts would be just horrible. First, the health of citizens would suffer. With an increase in population, the problems associated to untreated water would be disastrous. But, thanks to sewer processing plants, discharged effluent water is processed and cleaned prior to returning to waterways, streams, and rivers. They remain in check with water quality. In turn, wildlife,and the homeless population, often uses natural waterways to survive and remain healthy. In addition, water processing helps to repurpose dwindling natural resources — water. Treated water is often recycled and used to water golf course, public medians in roadways, and many industrial uses. Without sanitary systems, there is a huge risk from overflows, potentials for disease outbreak, and a may serve as a prime delivery system for a whole lot of nasty stuff
The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has added sewer systems to the list of the nation’s most critical infrastructure. Here is what DHS says:
The Water and Waste-water Systems Sector is vulnerable to a variety of attacks, including contamination with deadly agents, physical attacks such as the release of toxic gaseous chemicals and cyber attacks. If these attacks were realized, the result could be large numbers of illnesses or casualties and/or a denial of service that would also impact public health and economic vitality. Critical services such as firefighting and healthcare (hospitals), and other dependent and interdependent sectors, such as Energy, Food and Agriculture, and Transportation Systems, would suffer negative impacts from a denial of service in the Water and Waste-water Systems Sector. (1)
Sewer; how do you like me now?!?
Brought to you by Scipio Securitas — Improving Homeland Security Awareness!
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