Homeland Security Technologies

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -  The Printer’s Park Medical Plaza building has reopened after authorities said they had determined why drinking water at the facility sickened about two dozen people.

The property manager of the facility, NexCore Properties LLC, said Wednesday that the chemical propylene glycol was found in the water after a mechanical contractor connected the building’s heating system to the water system.

On October 29, Printers Parkway was closed after reports of discoloration and odor in the water, and about 24 employees and patients got sick.

To read the full article, click here.

PHILADELPHIA, Penn – The Water Quality and Health Council has been sending out warnings about a serious and potentially deadly problem facing the US population posed by our aging piped water infrastructure (see our “Pain at the Pipe” Part 1 and Part 2 blog posts).  We are not alone in issuing this warning.  In May, the American Water Works Association released the disturbing report:  Buried No Longer:  Confronting America’s Water Infrastructure Challenge, highlighting the serious need for water systems across North America to invest in water infrastructure.  The American Society of Civil Engineers gave the nation’s drinking water system a sorry grade of D minus in its 2009 Report Card of America’s Infrastructure.

The problem is particularly acute in the regions representing the 13 original colonies where infrastructure is older.  The average ages of water mains in Washington, DC and Philadelphia are 77 and 78 years respectively; this is comparable to the 80 year average for Richmond.  While the US also has issues with aging roads and bridges on which the country relies, the drinking water infrastructure is generally older and its failure will have more pervasive, serious and prolonged effects.  While not a pleasant thought, a bridge or road failure can be deadly and cause injuries.  Naturally, any preventative death is a tragedy, but a water system failure has the potential to cause more death and disease than most structural failures.

The residents of the City of Brotherly Love recently experienced two serious water main breaks within one week….For full article, click here.

For information on water quality monitoring, including early detection of pipe breaks and other incidents, click here.

WEST MILFORD, NJ — Homeland Security agents and township utilities staff today are reviewing more than 15 apparent attacks on local water and sewage facilities since summer that, in some instances, shut down water service and caused sewage overflows into the street, according to the system’s staff.

The saboteurs have shut off power to water systems, opened valves meant to be kept shut and thrown a plank of wood into a sewage filtration system, according to Kelly Love, administrator for the township’s Municipal Utility Authority, which serves around 20 percent of residents.

MUA staff will meet with agents from the Department of Homeland Security on Friday to discuss the incidents, said Love.  The sabotage, which began in July, has caused residents in at least 60 homes to lose water pressure three times and resulted in numerous sewage spills, said Eric Williams, owner of Jersey Environmental Solutions, which has maintained the system since summer.

To read the full article, click here.

AUSTRALIA —  Police are investigating the deliberate poisoning of two drinking water supply tanks at Marshall’s Lagoon, Forest Glen.

The highly toxic herbicide Diuron, which has serious side effects if ingested, was detected in two 5000-litre tanks on the property.  An on-site caretaker will know today whether the persistent bowel and stomach ailment that has weakened his health recently is the result of drinking water.

Detective Senior Sergeant Darren Edwards said the water had been tested through an accredited laboratory and there was no doubt that it had been contaminated.

To read more, click here.

HINGHAM, Mass. — Authorities shutdown a water source that supplies water to three Massachusetts towns on Wednesday.

Accord Pond serves Hingham, Hull and a portion of Cohasset. It was shutdown after a resident reported seeing a man throw something into the water.

The company that takes water from the pond insists that the water is fine, but as a precaution the company shutdown service from that pond. Police continue to investigate a report of someone throwing something in the water.

To read the full article, click here.