3 Considerations For Water Treatment Plant Security

The security of your water treatment plant is not something that should be neglected, particularly when over 60 million people are reliant on safe water 24/7.

Selecting the correct security provision for a water treatment plant will require you to consider closely:

The potential risks and threats
Accredited fencing
Which is the better fencing solution for you

In this post, we explore all three in detail – helping you to specify your water treatment plant security fencing with confidence.

Read on…

#1 What Are The Threats When It Comes To Protecting Water Treatment Plants?

For long durations, many utility sites, such as water treatment plants, are unmanned.

As a result, physical security measures such as perimeter protection and access control are
necessary to protect the facility and its assets.

The dangers associated with water treatment plants include:

Pollution
Accidental Contamination
Natural Disasters
Deliberate Poisoning of The UK’s water supply

These are only a few of the risks associated with water treatment facilities, so when you invest in infrastructure to secure your utilities site, make sure it’s strong and long-lasting to withstand a range of threats.

#2 Water Treatment Security: Searching For A Tested Security Fence

Water UK has set the ‘Standard for Security Arrangements for Operational Assets’ (SSAOA) – the benchmark for safe water regulation.

The document advises Water Services Companies to regularly assess the risks and to complete a matrix to access the likelihood and consequences of hazardous events.

The document then advises the water companies to use LPS 1175 certified products to mitigate these risks. The level of certification will depend on the risks and threats identified.

To prevent security breaches at your water treatment facility, we recommend specifiers choose tested security fencing systems and look for a certified security fence.

Within the industry, the LPS 1175 is usually the preferred and recommended specification.

LPS 1175 Security Fencing

When a security fence or gate is LPS (loss prevention standard 1175) accredited, it shows that it has been physically tested to prevent an individual from violating its fabric or structure by a third-party certification organisation. LPS 1175 is frequently updated by the LPCB, with Issue 8 being the most recent set of ratings.

The previous Issue, 7, which ranged from SR1 to SR8, has been replaced by this new set of Security Ratings.

This set of ratings adheres to a specific set of criteria and is a far more flexible approach, with a Threat classed in tool kits (letters A to H) and a Delay (numerical value in minutes: 1, 3, 5, 10, 15 or 20).

Rather than having a specific combination of both, specifiers can now choose goods depending on the delay in reaction time and toolset independently, as was the case in Issue 7.

This method is more realistic since it implies that security limitations can defend against a specific threat and build up a delay across multiple layers of security.

#3 Palisade Security Fencing Or Mesh Security Fencing?

Both mesh security fencing and palisade security fencing provide safety for your water treatment plants, but they have significant distinctions.

Palisade Security Fencing

However, palisade fencing looks very intimidating, which is a huge deterrent benefit for your water treatment plant security.

The triple or single-pointed pale design deters individuals from climbing the fence because it is easy to get caught or impaled.

Additional security toppings can be installed. Some clients choose to have the pale curled outwards to make the palisade even more difficult to climb. This heightens the fence’s threatening nature and gives the impression that it is even more difficult to scale.

Palisade security fencing is constructed up of durable steel pales that have often been reinforced, which, combined with pointed tops, deters break-in attempts because attackers can see how tough it is to get access.

With Barker’s, the palisade fence comes in small, transportable parts – making it easy to handle. Palisade can adapt to contours in the earth. It can cope with sloping ground up to 30 degrees without the need for on-site modifications such as steps. As well as having no obvious footholds, it would also be difficult to create any steps in the structure.

Conclusion

When it comes to security infrastructure for a water treatment facility (or any other utility site) – you need to consider the long-term benefit rather than the short-term.

After all, the dangers of a security breach in a water treatment facility much outweigh any purchase price.

Palisade security fencing can work to protect your site against unwanted access, working to keep your water treatment plant site protected for the many that rely on clean water.

CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR FREE CONSULTATION