In order to ensure greater resilience in the German drinking water supply, the DVGW-Technologiezentrum Wasser (TZW) has developed a methodology for spatial criticality analysis for the piped drinking water supply for the Bundesamt für Bevölkerungsschutz und Katastrophenhilfe (BBK). The BBK has now published the study.
According to the TZW, from the perspective of civil protection in Germany, the piped water supply is to be assessed as „critical infrastructure (KRITIS)“, which could result in lasting supply bottlenecks, significant impairments to public safety or similar in the event of disruptions.
Analysing system-critical aspects enables preventative measures
TZW's newly developed method for „spatial criticality analysis“ takes into account „structural relationships in the supply system and the number of people supplied“. Further attention is paid to „factors such as existing redundancies, storage options and sensitive consumers“.
If necessary, the geographical location of the plants can be included in the assessment. According to TZW, the calculations are carried out in a specially developed Excel tool, while an additional GIS tool enables the geo-referenced visualisation.
This allows critical points in the systems to be identified and preventative measures to be prioritised. The method was developed and tested with practical partners from the water supply sector using three different supply structures: a district water supplier, a regional water supplier and a small municipal company.
Information for water suppliers that goes beyond publication
The project results have been published by the BBK as Volume 33 of the „Forschung für den Bevölkerungsschutz“ series.
In addition to further information on the project website, the experts at TZW offer interested water supply companies the opportunity to contact Dr. Marcel Riegel for an initial consultation if they are interested in a criticality analysis of their systems.
