Water Quality Surveillance and Response System Webinars
Between March 2018 and March 2019, EPA hosted a monthly webinar series to provide an overview of Water Quality Surveillance and Response Systems (SRS) and their components:
- Online Water Quality Monitoring,
- Physical Security Monitoring,
- Customer Complaint Surveillance,
- Public Health Surveillance,
- Sampling and Analysis, and
- Consequence Management.
Recordings of the twelve, one-hour webinars presented during this series are available from this page.
Webinar recordings
Risk of Drinking Water Contamination and Actions to Prepare (March 20, 2018)
This webinar describes the risk of drinking water contamination, including case studies of contamination incidents that have occurred in recent years. It introduces the design of a Water Quality Surveillance and Response System, which is an integrated approach to real-time monitoring of multiple datastreams with the potential to detect a wide range of water quality problems, and a response framework to effectively manage problems that are detected.
Presented by Steve Allgeier (U.S. EPA, Water Infrastructure and Cyber Resilience Division)
Online Water Quality Monitoring for Source Waters (April 10, 2018)
This webinar discusses online water quality monitoring systems for source water. It covers design considerations including, selection of monitoring locations, selection of parameters to monitor, and information management and analysis. Also, a case study is presented to show how West Virginia American Water has addressed various design considerations to maximize the effectiveness of their system.
Presented by Matt Umberg (U.S. EPA, Water Infrastructure and Cyber Resilience Division) and
Jennifer Heymann (American Water)
Physical Security Monitoring (May 8, 2018)
This webinar discusses design considerations for enhancing the security at water distribution system facilities that are at risk of intentional contamination. Topics covered include methods to prioritize facilities for security enhancements, intrusion detection, video monitoring, and commissioning best practices. The webinar also discusses the potential role of advanced metering infrastructure in distribution system security.
Presented by Nelson Mix (U.S. EPA, Water Infrastructure and Cyber Resilience Division) and
Armond Gauthier & Steven Frew (East Bay Municipal Utility District)
Online Water Quality Monitoring for Distribution Systems (June 5, 2018)
This webinar discusses design considerations for implementing and operating an online water quality monitoring system that covers a distribution system. It covers the selection of monitoring locations and parameters, as well as information management and data analysis. A case study is presented to show how the Philadelphia Water Department has addressed various design considerations to maximize the benefit provided by online water quality monitoring in their distribution system.
Presented by Matt Umberg (U.S. EPA, Water Infrastructure and Cyber Resilience Division) and
Ralph Rogers (Philadelphia Water Department)
Communications Systems for Smart Utility Infrastructure (July 17, 2018)
This webinar discusses the communication needs of smart utility infrastructure including monitoring systems that collect data throughout a water distribution system, such as sensors deployed for Online Water Quality Monitoring and Enhanced Security Monitoring. It describes considerations for designing, evaluating and selecting communications systems that meet the unique requirements of smart utility infrastructure. An application of smart infrastructure is presented through a wastewater utility case study of wet weather flow management. The webinar concludes with a look ahead at emerging technologies, such as the Internet of Things.
Presented by Nelson Mix (U.S. EPA, Water Infrastructure and Cyber Resilience Division) and
Reese Johnson (Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati)
Analysis of Online Water Quality Data (August 14, 2018)
This webinar describes methods for conducting an exploratory analysis of historical water quality data collected from a water distribution system using online monitoring instruments. It also describes how source water constituents of concern can be estimated in near-real-time using continuous water-quality data. Examples of this work from existing USGS studies are presented, including the use of continuous water-quality data to estimate abundances of cyanobacteria and associated toxins on the Kansas River.
Presented by Steve Allgeier (U.S. EPA, Water Infrastructure and Cyber Resilience Division) and
Jimmy Webber (USGS, VA and WV Water Science Center)
Customer Complaint Surveillance for Detecting Drinking Water Contamination (September 11, 2018)
This webinar describes how water quality complaints from customers can be analyzed in real time to detect emerging water quality problems. It describes methods and tools that can be used to analyze historical data to set thresholds that minimize the frequency of invalid alerts without compromising detection capabilities. Additionally, a case study of the use of social media monitoring during an emergency is presented.
Presented by Nelson Mix (U.S. EPA, Water Infrastructure and Cyber Resilience Division) and
Franchesca Thompson (District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority)
Public Health Surveillance for Detecting Drinking Water Contamination (October 9, 2018)
This webinar discusses the role that public health partners can play in detecting and responding to drinking water contamination incidents. It provides an overview of common public health partners as well as the types of surveillance they perform. Examples of the application of public health surveillance to monitor for water contamination incidents is presented. The webinar also discusses the importance of effective risk communication during drinking water emergencies. Information about risk communication tools available to drinking water utilities and the public health sector is provided.
Presented by Steve Allgeier (U.S. EPA, Water Infrastructure and Cyber Resilience Division) and
Jonathan Yoder (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Response Planning for Distribution System Contamination Incidents (November 6, 2018)
This webinar provides an overview of the response to a distribution system contamination incident and the steps utilities can take to prepare their own response procedure. It covers roles and responsibilities when working with response partners. The webinar also discusses possible response actions that can be implemented to minimize consequences, such as operational changes to reduce the spread of contaminated water and public notification to minimize customers’ exposure to contaminated water.
Presented by Bill Platten (U.S. EPA, Water Infrastructure and Cyber Resilience Division) and
Scott Bradway (Portland Water Bureau)
Preparing for Sampling and Analysis in Response to Distribution System Contamination Incidents (December 11, 2018)
This webinar provides an overview of capabilities necessary for field and laboratory response to a possible drinking water contamination incident. It includes a discussion of priority contaminants, analytical methods, emergency response sampling kits, and field testing equipment. Lessons learned from utility implementation of emergency response sampling and analysis capabilities are also presented.
Presented by Jeremy Bishop (Jacobs) and
Gary Burlingame (Philadelphia Water Department)
Designing an Integrated Water Quality Surveillance and Response System (February 12, 2019)
This webinar provides an overview of system-level design principles for a Water Quality Surveillance and Response System. It discusses project management, master planning, information management, dashboard design, and alternatives analysis. The webinar also presents a walk-through of the SRS Capabilities Assessment Tool, which is designed to help water utilities assess their existing surveillance and response capabilities and identify potential enhancements.
Presented by Steve Allgeier (U.S. EPA, Water Infrastructure and Cyber Resilience Division) and
Matt Umberg (U.S. EPA, Water Infrastructure and Cyber Resilience Division)