Software Tool Helps Protect Nation's Drinking Water

Now, the tool is available for use by every state in the Nation, according to its developer, Douglas Ryan, a scientist at the USDA Forest Service's PNW Research Station. Recognizing the need for a readily available, single source of information, Ryan led an interagency effort to develop ICWater (pronounced "icy water"), a tool designed to help incident commanders protect drinking water in an emergency. He serves as the effort's overall task manager and is based at the PNW Research Station's Forestry Sciences Laboratory in Olympia, Wash.

In the United States, hundreds of thousands of bodies of surface water--like lakes, rivers, and reservoirs--help supply the American public with its drinking water. If a chemical, radioactive or biological contaminant were accidentally or intentionally introduced into a drinking water source, knowing what threat it posed to the public would be essential for incident commanders who direct first responders to mount an effective emergency response.

"Incident commanders need timely and accurate information to guide their decisions on deploying first responders to best protect the public," said Douglas Ryan, manager of the Pacific Northwest Research Station's Aquatic and Land Interactions Program. "This information often can be drawn from sources that already exist, but they are scattered and usually not quickly available to on-the-scene commanders in emergencies."

ICWater is a computer--based tool that integrates multiple information sources and data for incident commanders at the scene of a surface water contamination. With this information, it quickly produces maps, tables, and charts that tell incident commanders if drinking water intakes are in the contaminant's path, and when and in what concentration the contaminant will reach the intakes. Developing ICWater drew upon the extensive expertise of the USDA Forest Service in water research as well as data sources from several other agencies.

In addition to the USDA Forest Service, the Technical Support Working Group, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Federal Emergency Management Agency, NOAA and Defense Threat Reduction Agency have supported this effort. The tool is being produced under government contract by Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC).

To learn more about ICWater and how it works visit http://eh2o.saic.com/icwater/

The PNW Research Station, headquartered in Portland, Ore., generates and communicates scientific knowledge to help people understand and make informed choices about natural resources and the environment. It has 10 laboratories located in Alaska, Oregon, and Washington and about 500 employees. Visit http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw for more information.