Terrorism and Ground Water

I might as well jump in feet first with this topic, which sounds like the basis for a season of Kiefer Sutherland's 24. But I'm deadly serious.

Most of the concern for water terrorism has rightly emphasized the protection of water intakes and other entry points into water distribution systems and the development of emergency supplies and response procedures.  The contamination of reservoirs is generally considered difficult because of the large volumes of water involved and the resulting significant dilution.

But what about the intentional introduction of a chemical, biological, or radiological (CBR) agent into an aquifer, so as to cause a large number of deaths?  At first, this appears so ridiculous as to promote immediate dismissal of the concept.  If the contamination of a reservoir or storage tank with a lethal dose of a CBR agent is difficult to accomplish, then what about aquifers, whose water volumes are often measured in cubic kilometers?  But it may be possible that a biotoxin might prove more appropriate to contaminate an aquifer than a chemical or radiological agent.

Here are some of the questions that I think are important:

• Which aquifer types would a terrorist seek to contaminate?
• Which aquifers in the USA (and the world) have recharge areas that are well-known and accessible?
• Which aquifers have short travel times from recharge areas to supply wells?
• Which aquifers provide little opportunity for a toxin to disperse, sorb, react, or degrade? 
• Which aquifers have relatively low storage volumes between recharge areas and supply wells?
• Which (bio)toxins might be suitable for terrorist acts directed at aquifers?

In terms of vulnerability, certain types of aquifers come to mind - karst, fractured rock, and volcanic rock aquifers.

I have attached a pdf of a brief article I wrote a few years ago that was published in Ground Water News and Views, a newsletter of the National Gorund Water Association. At the time some criticized me for broaching this topic, lest I give some people ideas. If that's the case, we should probably not discuss anything unpleasant, since there may be some "copycats" out there. I like to think that if more people had thought about commercial airliners being used as weapons of mass destruction we might have avoided 9/11.

I am also attaching a recent excellent article by Peter Gleick on "Water and Terrorism".

Download weaponization_and_ground_water4282005.pdf

Download GleickWaterTerrorism06.pdf

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." - attributed to Edmund Burke

Comments

[Lee]

Seems to me that our water was turned over to outsiders long ago. See link below:
http://www.myspace.com/marlalk4