By Joyce Kryszak
Buffalo, NY – More than 130,000 Erie County Water Authority customers can rest assured the water they're drinking is safe. That's the assessment based on the authority's recently released 2001 annual water quality report. In fact, rigorous testing shows that the authority's water either met, or exceeded, all federal standards. But keeping billions of gallons of water safe, is no longer as easy -- or cheap -- as it once was.
We think little of turning on the faucet for a simple glass of water. It's clear, it tastes good, and most importantly, it's safe. But this is no simple process. The Erie County Water Authority pumps about 25 billion gallons of water through roughly 2,000 miles of pipe, delivering it to 32 municipalities across Erie and Chautauqua Counties. And there are more than a half- million residential, commercial and industrial customers who depend on every drop to be safe.
Each year, the authority puts out a report detailing the quality of the water it maintains. And, this year, thanks to two state-of-the-art water treatment facilities, as usual, the water was deemed a.o.k. But Robert Mendez, who is executive director of the authority, says there's no longer anything "usual" about keeping that high standard.
"Since 9/11 we have enhanced our physical and cyber-security systems," said Mendez. "We spent probably close to almost a million dollars on increasing the security of our water... increasing the testing of our water. We've bought some very sophisticated equipment to help us detect any problems in our water distribution system, or in our raw water quality.
The authority conducts more than 70,000 tests each year to ensure water quality and safety. But with terrorism now an omnipresent reality, testing is no longer enough. Mendez says they have changed the entire way they do business. Facilities tours, once popular particularly with school groups, are no longer allowed. But Mendez says keeping a closer watch on treatment facilities, accounts for only two sources among thousands.
"The Erie County Water Authority has almost 15,000 hydrants, over 130,000 customer service points, over 2,000 miles of pipe, and various facilities located throughout Erie County," said Mendez. "And it is a major undertaking, and it has been a very expensive one to take."
And authority officials say it's likely the $1 million price tag needed for security measures this year will be a permanent fixture in future budgets. Congress has mandated increased security and regular vulnerability assessments for larger water entities like Erie County's. But what about smaller municipal systems, with far more limited resources?
A telephone monitoring system is just one of the many added security measures taken by the Village of Akron. On the edge of the rural village, stands the familiar blue water tower -- now surrounded by high security fencing to keep out "unwanted visitors." At one time, innocent high school pranksters, armed with spray cans, were the main concern. But Akron Mayor Michael Charles says, in the new age of terrorism, innocence is gone.
"I just returned from the New York State Annual Conference of Mayors and that was one of the topics of discussion," said Charles. "And Senator Schumer and Senator Clinton were both in attendance on the first day, and talked about homeland security and issues related to utilities."
Akron provides pure drinking water to about 5,000 people, including the village and surrounding areas. There are the water tower and processing facility to maintain -- and now secure -- as well as a giant reservoir. And Charles says that takes manpower.
"We also have increased our Akron Police Department staffing and added another police car," said Charles. "So we are doing a lot of patrolling in the village, that we weren't doing prior to 9/11 on utilities."
Like the Erie County Water Authority, Akron does rigorous testing to make sure water supplies have not been compromised. They do have a back-up source. Still, Charles says they're taking extra steps to prepare for the worse.
"We're exploring an additional source, just in case something happened to one of our sources of water that we would have a tertiary source," Charles said.
Charles said the total costs for the added measures have not yet been tallied, although he says he would describe them as substantial. Robert Mendez with the Erie County Water Authority says that, sadly, no amount of money guarantees safety. He says guarding against terrorism is a community effort.
"Be aware of who you see around Water Authority facilities, who you see using fire hydrants" said Mendez. "And that's one area that we would ask the customers help. Just to be a little more vigilant and a little more observant around Water Authority facilities."
Indeed, the 9/11 tragedy has ensured nothing can ever again be taken for granted -- not even a simple glass of water.