The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently announced over $9 million in grant funding for midsize and large water systems to help protect drinking water from cybersecurity threats and improve resiliency for extreme weather events. The agency is also publishing a report highlighting 10 recommendations to strengthen resiliency to cyberattacks in the water sector.
The Midsize and Large Drinking Water System Infrastructure Resilience and Sustainability grant program is authorized by Congress through the Safe Drinking Water Act. EPA is seeking grant applications from public water systems serving 10,000 people or more. This funding opportunity will remain open for 60 days on www.grants.gov.
Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies CEO Tom Dobbins released a statement after the EPA announcement, noting that public water systems across the country face hundreds of billions of dollars in costs in the coming decades to maintain their infrastructure and operations, and that those challenges will only be compounded by growing threats posed by extreme weather events and cybersecurity risks.
"That is why starting in 2009 AMWA conceived of and advocated for what became the Midsize and Large Drinking Water System Infrastructure Resilience and Sustainability Program, which offers dedicated funding to help water systems offset the costs of these critical projects," Dobbins says in the statement. "Today's announcement by EPA that the first tranche of funding from the program is finally available marks a milestone in efforts by AMWA, other water sector stakeholders, and our federal partners to ensure that water systems nationwide are best positioned to withstand these emerging threats."
Water cybersecurity recommendations
The EPA also is publishing a report titled, Securing the Future of Water: Addressing Cyber Threats Today (pdf). The report includes recommendations calling for a holistic approach to strengthen cybersecurity in the water sector by enhancing coordination and collaboration across government, associations and water utilities. Systems are being encouraged to address unique needs, normalize and promote cybersecurity measures, and improve access to technical assistance. These recommendations were produced by a Water Sector Cybersecurity Task Force that EPA co-lead at the time they were developed.
There are several priority actions that accompany the recommendations, including the development of water-sector focused cybersecurity leadership training, increasing direct cybersecurity technical assistance, providing webinars and curated resources for utilities, integration of cybersecurity into operator certification and continuing education, coordination with state Chief Information Officers Offices for Cybersecurity Support, and more.
EPA is taking action to advance the goals of the recommendations and priority actions. Learn more about the Water Sector Cybersecurity Task Force recommendations.
