Background and Aim: Strengthening the security and flexibility of critical infrastructure such as water facilities, which are part of the main assets and vital centers of cities and are very vulnerable to possible attacks, has a very important role in reducing vulnerability in critical situations. The aim of this study was to identify and assess the risk of drinking water facilities in Hashtgerd city by Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA).
Methods: The present analytical study was conducted in the all water facility of Hashtgerd city, Alborz, Iran in 2020. Identification and determination of the types of potential hazards and threats of water facilities in Hashtgerd city related to the quantity and quality of water and operation and maintenance was done by reviewing the necessary documents, field visits, observation, interviews and opinion polls of Alborz province water supply experts. Then, risk assessment was performed using FMEA technique. The risk priority number was calculated by multiplying the three factors of severity, probability of occurrence and probability of discovery, and based on that, risk prioritization was performed and the necessary solutions to reduce the risk were presented.
Results: In this study, 42 potential risks were identified. The highest risks belonged to water wells (35.71%). The identified risks were 10, 33 and 57%, related to the quantity, quality of water and operation and maintenance, respectively. The highest risk priority number were 576, 448 and 392, related to the critical threats that belonged to improper selection of water well location, possibility of physical attacks on reservoirs and long life of pumping station and water distribution network, respectively. 47.6, 40.5 and 11.9% of the risks were at the critical, moderate and non-critical levels, respectively. Risk priority number range of critical level threats for water wells with 8 risks was 192-448, for pumping stations with 8 risks was 280-576 and for reservoirs and water distribution network with 4 risks was 336-392.
Conclusion: The findings showed that all of the Hashtgerd water facilities are vulnerable to identified potentially critical threats and require serious corrections, control, monitoring and up-to-date and frequent staff training. Corrections implementation, especially for critical level threats, in order of priority for water tanks and distribution network, pumping station and then water wells, can play an effective role in reducing the risk potential and destructive effects of threats in crises and need to be seriously considered by water industry officials. |
