1 Risk management and disaster preparedness Introduction Life-cycle management of infrastructure requires that water, sewer, and storm water utilities.

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Risk management and disaster preparedness

Introduction

Life-cycle management of infrastructure requires that water, sewer, and storm water utilities provide safe and reliable service in spite of earthquakes, floods, accidents, and even terrorist attacks. This requires infrastructure managers to deal with several forms of risk that go well beyond engineering design. They do this by adding security and risk management to other tasks of planning, design, construction operation, and maintenance. Providing security and avoiding disasters should become part of everyday business in utilities.

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Risk management and disaster preparedness

Introduction

The world of risk has expanded, and the purposes of this chapter are to outline the risks, relate them to the integrity of infrastructure systems, and explain how to reduce vulnerability. One tool for reducing vulnerability is the “vulnerability assessment,”.

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Risk management and disaster preparedness

IntroductionConsequences of disasters and emergencies can be dire. Some listed by the AWWA for water utilities are the following:• Personnel shortages• Contamination of water supplies• Contamination of air• Well and pump damage• Pipeline breaks and appurtenance damage• Structure damage• Equipment and material damage or loss

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Risk management and disaster preparedness

IntroductionConsequences of disasters and emergencies can be dire. Some listed by the AWWA for water utilities are the following:• Process tank or basin damage• Electric power outage• Communications disruption• Transportation failure• Hazardous effects on system components

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Risk management and disaster preparedness

Risks to water, sewer, and storm water systemsReducing vulnerability and improving reliability are two sides of the same coin. Threats will always be there, but if vulnerability can be reduced, utilityservices can continue in spite of them. Reducing vulnerability and improving reliability extend to almost everything the utility does, and are quality management issues.

The most visible risks to water, sewer, and storm water systems involve public health and safety, which affect system design and management and require capital investments and decisions

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Risk management and disaster preparedness

Risks to water, sewer, and storm water systems

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Risk management and disaster preparedness

Risks to water, sewer, and storm water systems

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Risk management and disaster preparedness

Risks to water, sewer, and storm water systems

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Risk management and disaster preparedness

Risks to water, sewer, and storm water systems

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Risk management and disaster preparedness

Risk management

Risk management is the term used to explain the different ways an organization handles risk. In risk management, one considers hazards that can threaten vulnerable elements of a system, assesses risks and consequences, and develops actions, including mitigation, response, recovery, and communication of risk to constituent groups.

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Risk management and disaster preparedness

Risk management

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Risk management and disaster preparedness

Risk management

Many different terms are used in the risk management field. They include hazard assessment, disaster mitigation, risk assessment and reduction, vulnerability assessment, mitigation, emergency management, and contingency planning, among others. On close inspection, however, these fields involve the same general processes, which are identifying, managing, and responding to threats to an organization and seeking to answer the following questions

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Risk management and disaster preparedness

Risk management

• What can go wrong and why (what are the hazards and threats, what disaster can occur)?• How likely is it (what is the risk, chance, probability, likelihood)?• How bad can it be (who or what would be affected, what is the vulnerability, what would be the consequences)?• What can we do about it (what should be the management actions, mitigation, response, or recovery)?

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Risk management and disaster preparedness

Risk managementThese can be reduced to a few essential steps. • Determine, recognize, and appreciate all potential out-of-course events (hazard assessment).• Determine (measure) levels of these risks (risk assessment).• Reduce levels of risk to as low as reasonably practicable or to acceptable levels (risk reduction).• Ascertain how and why each out-of-course event can affect people, places, and processes and the consequences of the effects (vulnerability assessment).• Establish means and mechanisms by which consequences can be counterbalanced in a manner acceptable to business and regulators (mitigation).

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Risk management and disaster preparedness

Risk management

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Risk management and disaster preparedness

Risk management

For storm water systems, the purpose of the system is to handle hazards, and we do not normally consider a hazard interrupting regular service, as we do in water supply and wastewater. Storm water systems are designed based on acceptable risks. But storm water systems do present risks, in similar ways to water supply and wastewater. For example, close associationsbetween storm water and transportation facilities increase interdependency between the systems and can increase risk.

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Risk management and disaster preparednessRisk assessment, vulnerability analysis, and contingency planning

Risk assessment or analysis is the systematic use of information to identify sources and to estimate the risk. Achieving this is the goal of contingency planning, in which levels of risks must be measured and be reduced to as low as reasonably practicable.

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Risk management and disaster preparednessRisk assessment, vulnerability analysis, and contingency planning

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Risk management and disaster preparednessRisk assessment, vulnerability analysis, and contingency planning

The science of measuring risks is well advanced for some threats but not for others. In general, risks to water, sewer, and storm water systemswould be difficult to quantify, although possibilities can be listed and mapped, as shown before.

The general process of contingency planning involves enacting disaster scenarios, estimating demands, identifying measures for meeting minimum needs, and isolating critical components or systems that may causesystem failures. This is generally referred to as vulnerability assessment or analysis.

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Risk management and disaster preparednessRisk assessment, vulnerability analysis, and contingency planning

Vulnerability analysis means to determine the consequences of the hazards affecting the facility or operations of concern. It requires identificationand measurement of risk, and identifies vulnerabilities. It presents historical data about past disasters, assesses future probability and frequency of emergencies and disasters, analyzes impacts and effects, and validates data

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Risk management and disaster preparednessRisk assessment, vulnerability analysis, and contingency planning

In vulnerability analysis, the effects of the hazards on water system components and water quality and quantity should be determined. The entire system should of course be analyzed, as well as the components.

1. Identify components of the water supply system.2. Estimate potential effects of possible disasters.3. Establish goals for performance and levels of service.4. Identify critical components.

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Risk management and disaster preparednessRisk assessment, vulnerability analysis, and contingency planning

These steps, although stated for water supply systems, apply to sewer and storm water as well. They would be implemented this way:

1. Identification of system components requires an inventory with maps, condition inspections, and data for operations and maintenance scenarios, including emergency actions.

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Risk management and disaster preparednessRisk assessment, vulnerability analysis, and contingency planning

2. Quantifying magnitude determines the scale and magnitude of each potential disaster or contingency. Estimating effects of anticipated disasters on each component of the system involves disaggregationof systems to assess the effects of each disaster type on each component (for example, a storage reservoir might be vulnerable to a mudslide, whereas the treatment plant might fail during a power outage).

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Risk management and disaster preparednessRisk assessment, vulnerability analysis, and contingency planning

3. Estimating demand during and after the disaster for all purposes is an extension of normal demand estimating procedures. Determining the capability of a system to meet demands during emergencies requires modeling and analysis to match demands and supplies during the emergency.

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Risk management and disaster preparednessRisk assessment, vulnerability analysis, and contingency planning

4. Identifying critical components that cause failure during emergencies is the result of the vulnerability analysis and pinpoints the components that need strengthening.

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Risk management and disaster preparednessMitigation measures, including design and construction

Mitigation consists of “disaster-proofing” activities which eliminate or reduce the probability of disaster effects

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Risk management and disaster preparednessMitigation measures, including design and construction

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Risk management and disaster preparednessRisk assessment, vulnerability analysis, and contingency planning

Reliability as a key design goal means the extent to which a system performs its function without failure. A systems approachwould make sure failure of a component does not lead to failure of system. Reliability depends on treatment train, equipment, processes, standby equipment, redundancy, parallel systems, and flexibility.

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Risk management and disaster preparednessRisk assessment, vulnerability analysis, and contingency planning

Principles and ideas for reliable systems are:

• Ensure that failure of any one component does not cause operating failure or noncompliance.• Provide operational flexibility to handle problems with source water variability.• Have reserves and redundancies to keep operating if one unit is out of service.• Have one or more processes perform the same function, such as filters and sedimentation to remove particulates.• Gain flexibility through redundancy, conservative sizing, or unit arrangements.

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Risk management and disaster preparednessRisk assessment, vulnerability analysis, and contingency planning

Principles and ideas for reliable systems are:

• Ensure overall reliability through interconnections and different sources.• Avoid independent process trains; use interconnections instead.• Use gravity flow instead of pumping.• Ensure component system reliability — electrical, controls, and many other factors.• Consider disasters in design.• Use waterproofing.• Control access.• Have plant security.

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Risk management and disaster preparednessRisk assessment, vulnerability analysis, and contingency planning

Principles and ideas for reliable systems are:

• Store chemicals on site to mitigate truck blockades.• Have on-site generation of chemicals, chlorine.• Have a HAZMAT program.• Have a safety program.• Do a vulnerability analysis.• Have multiple intake ports or well screens.• Use off-stream sources.

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Risk management and disaster preparednessRisk assessment, vulnerability analysis, and contingency planning

Principles and ideas for reliable systems are:

• Have dual power sources and standby power.• Have chemical storage reliability.• Ensure reliability of process design.• Ensure smooth O&M.• Have shop drawings.• Have computerized maintenance systems.• Have trained people.