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GAO−07−480: Securing Wastewater Facilities
Costs of Vulnerability Assessments, Risk Management Plans, and Alternative Disinfection Methods Vary Widely (Report). Since September 11, 2001, the nation’s water infrastructure has received greater attention, including the risk of terrorist attacks at wastewater facilities that store hazardous chlorine gas for disinfection. In 2006, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported that many large wastewater facilities have responded to this risk by voluntarily conducting vulnerability assessments and converting from chlorine gas to other disinfection methods. In this study, GAO was asked to provide information on (1) the range of costs large wastewater treatment facilities incurred in preparing vulnerability assessments and risk management plans, and (2) the costs large wastewater treatment facilities incurred in converting from chlorine gas to alternative disinfection processes. Among the large wastewater facilities GAO examined, the costs reported to prepare vulnerability assessments ranged from $1,000 to $175,000, while costs to prepare risk management plans ranged from less than $1,000 to over $31,000. For the large wastewater facilities GAO examined, reports of actual and projected capital costs to convert from chlorine gas to alternative disinfection methods range from about $650,000 to just over $13 million. |
