SAFEWATER - application and results of innovative tools for the detection and mitigation of CBRN-related contamination events in drinking water supply systems

The security of drinking water is increasingly recognized as a major challenge for municipalities and water utilities. The safety and or security of drinking water can be threatened by natural disasters, accidents or malevolent attacks. The European FP7 project SAFEWATER (10/2013 - 12/2016) developed a comprehensive event detection and event management solution for drinking water security management and mitigation against major deliberate, accidental or natural CBRN related contaminations. The aim of this paper is to present the main results of the SAFEWATER project with a focus on (1) new sensors for detection of chemical, biological and radiological threats, (2) Event Detection System and (3) results of real-life user-case scenarios which have been investigated at three water utilities.