Since the tragic events surrounding Sept. 11, the Plainview Water District has instituted numerous security measures to help further protect the water supply from possible terrorist attacks. Recently, the water district became one of a number of water suppliers across the country taking advantage of a nationwide program designed to increase security by subscribing to WaterISAC, or Information Sharing and Analysis Center.

This program, a highly secure Internet portal, was launched in December 2002 and according to Plainview Water District Commissioner Kevin Langberg is the best source for sensitive security information and alerts to help America's drinking water and wastewater community protect consumers and the environment. Currently, it is the only centralized resource that gathers, analyzes and disseminates threat information that is specific to the water community. WaterISAC enables fast and cost-effective access to sensitive information about cyber, physical and contamination issues.

"I must stress that to date, we have not had any suspicious activities surrounding our water supply," said Commissioner Langberg. "However, it is our priority to remain informed and be prepared for security issues pertaining to our water. WaterISAC is an inexpensive program, which provides us with threats against water suppliers across the country much more quickly than we've received reports in the past. This program also informs water suppliers what to look for in a potential attack and what to do in case of an attack. We will continue to review implementing additional measures in the future with regard to safety."

Protecting the quality of the water supply will always be a top priority of the Plainview Water District Board of Commissioners. That is why Commissioners Kevin Langberg, Joel Kessler and Edward Shulroff seek to stay ahead of the curve by keeping informed of potential problems facing the water supply. An informed board is a board that can implement initiatives to eradicate possible concerns before they impact our drinking water. Therefore, the information contained in the soon to be released New York State Department of Health's Source Water Assessment Program (SWAP) report comes as no surprise to the board.

According to Commissioner Langberg, the SWAP report reveals a small number of contaminants of potential concern to the water supply, including volatile organic compounds and nitrates used decades ago when Plainview-Old Bethpage was a farming community. Luckily, through aggressive research and proactive response, the likelihood of these contaminants impacting the water supply has been minimized.

For example, over the past several years, the Plainview Water District's commissioners have led the fight against M.T.B.E., a gasoline additive and volatile organic compound, which is non-biodegradable, has a propensity to sink into the aquifer system and is soluble in water. Currently, they have identified MTBE spills in the community and have implemented a course of action to prevent the chemical from infiltrating the water supply.

"We encourage the public to learn more about their water supply, by contacting us or the Nassau County Health Department for more information on the SWAP report and assessment results," said Commissioner Langberg. "The quality and safety of our drinking water is always a major concern for the board and we will continue to aggressively monitor potential problems in our area. Early detection and immediate response are our best defenses against contamination. Of course, we will also continue to push New York State to ban harmful, useless substances like MTBE."