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EPA Provides $1 Million to Gauge Vulnerability of Local Water Supplies

Release Date: 6/20/2002
Contact Information: Bill Dunbar
[email protected]
(206) 553-1203

The grants are part of a $53 milion dollar program to help large drinking water utilities -- those serving over 100,000 people -- around the nation conduct water security planning. Collectively, these large systems provide drinking water to nearly half of Americans served by public water systems. The EPA = s goal is to help make water utilities in the U.S. as safe as possible as soon as possible.

Development of a vulnerability assessment is the highest priority activity under this grant program, since it is the first step in understanding where a utility can be damaged by terrorist attack. Funds may also be used for development of an emergency operations plan, to design security enhancements, or a combination of these efforts.

The EPA has allocated $53 million for security planning at the nation = s large drinking water utilities, while $23 million has been set aside to address the needs of small and medium-sized utilities.

EPA cannot award grants under the Safe Drinking Water Act to privately owned utilities. However, since they serve the general public just as publicly owned systems do, the EPA is working on other funding mechanisms to provide support to these systems.

EPA/Gene Taylor 800/424-4372 ext 1389	Seattle/Susan Stoltzfus 206/684-7688	Portland/Sarah Bott 503/823-344
Everett /Jim Miller 425/257-8880	Bellevue /Wendy Skony 425/452- 5215	Tacoma/Al Medak 253/502-8210
Vancouver/Pat Easley 360/696-8492	Salem/Sophia Hobet 503/588-6483	Eugene/ Mel Damewood 541/341-1878
Clackamas/Dale Jutila 503/887-2821	Susan Adams-Gunn 503/577-4355