Water systems beef up security

By Christine Callan

In response to threats to national security, utilities across the country are at work to protect water supplies.

“We’ve been reporting to the board for a while on various things we are doing to exercise extra care and diligence,” said Roger Brown, general manager of the Birch Bay Water and Sewer District board of commissioners. During the board of commissioners meeting on November 8, it was reported $1,300 was the lowest quoted price for alarming three different reservoirs throughout the area.

After receiving a nationwide warning from the FBI, to be on a high state of alert, the district has been coordinating with Blaine on extra measures to ensure safety. “We’ve received non-specific indications to operate on a higher state of alert as a general precaution,” Brown said.

These measures include alarming additional facilities, providing staff with ID cards to ensure legitimate persons working with the water and reviewing emergency management and procedures with staff on a more regular basis.

In addition, the district encourages all community members to abide by the emergency planning guidelines spelled out by the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Department of Emergency Management (DEM).

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