This document summarizes a project assessing the resilience of critical water supply infrastructure in the Czech Republic. The project identified 16 critical elements of the water supply system, assessed risks to them from natural disasters, human threats, technological issues, and other dependent threats. Risk indexes were calculated based on likelihood and impact. Results showed weaknesses in the system and were shared with operators and crisis management authorities to improve crisis preparedness planning and cooperation. The work supports increasing resilience of critical infrastructure and reducing disaster risks as outlined in the Hyogo Framework for Action.

1. Reisilience of Critical Infrastructure
in field of Water Supply System
5th International Disaster and Risk Conference IDRC 2014
‘Integrative Risk Management - The role of science, technology & practice‘ • 24-28 August 2014 • Davos • Switzerland
www.grforum.org
Jana Gebhartová, AF-CITYPLAN, Czech Republic
Jana Caletková, AF-CITYPLAN, Czech Republic
Ivan Beneš, AF-CITYPLAN, Czech Republic

2. 5th International Disaster and Risk Conference IDRC 2014
‘Integrative Risk Management - The role of science, technology & practice‘ • 24-28 August 2014 • Davos • Switzerland
www.grforum.org
Introduction
• Water – food – energy are critical resources needed for our
survival and sustainable development
• One of the major challenges we are facing is growing
population and urbanization (60 % of urban dwellers by 2030)
– big pressure on resources and functional infrastructure
• Modern society (especially life in cities) increasingly depends
on infrastructure that can meet basic human needs – long-term
interruption in continuity of critical services and
products can result in breakdown of whole society in the city

3. Vulnerability of community during a long-term
5th International Disaster and Risk Conference IDRC 2014
‘Integrative Risk Management - The role of science, technology & practice‘ • 24-28 August 2014 • Davos • Switzerland
www.grforum.org
extraordinary events
„Five days after Typhoon Haiyan ripped apart entire coastal communities, the situation in
Tacloban is becoming ever more dire with essential supplies low and increasingly
desperate survivors jostling for aid“.
„Others are taking matters into their own hands... Some survivors in Tacloban dug up
water pipes in their desperate need for water“.
„Some areas appeared to teeter near anarchy amid widespread looting of shops and
warehouses for food, water and supplies“.
„Since the city's warehouses have been emptied, looters are now entering homes and
dwellings“.
"The looting is not criminality. It is self-preservation".
(Source: Reuters)

4. Resilience of community for long-term extraordinary
5th International Disaster and Risk Conference IDRC 2014
‘Integrative Risk Management - The role of science, technology & practice‘ • 24-28 August 2014 • Davos • Switzerland
www.grforum.org
event
• Recovery of basic supplies within 5 days → community can
avoid its breakdown
• Ensuring reliability of continuous water supply in sufficient
quantities is absolutely essential in view of function of health
society and its economic development

5. • „The safety assessment of critical infrastructure elements and alternative
possibilities for increasing the security of cities and municipalities in the
drinking water in case of major natural disasters and industrial accidents“
(2010 – 2014)
• Project team: experts to protection and safety of critical infrastructure, water
treatment system and water management systems
5th International Disaster and Risk Conference IDRC 2014
‘Integrative Risk Management - The role of science, technology & practice‘ • 24-28 August 2014 • Davos • Switzerland
www.grforum.org
Project
• Cooperation with an operator of water supply system
• Final user of results is state authorities – crisis management
authorities
• Objective of the project = to develop a systematic approach
to critical infrastructure protection in field of drinking water
supply and suggestion of approach to risk reduction
• Holistic attitude „source of water to distribution“
• Consideration of extraordinary events that can cause
malfunction of drinking water supply system for more that
24 hours – possible crisis situations

6. Project – encreasing resilience of water supply
system
• Identification of 16 critical elements in the entire water supply
system – elements that are unique and hard to repeir them
within 24 hours
• Identification of possible threats relevant in the Czech Republic
– Natural threats (floods, drought, earhquake, windstorm, gale, frost, etc.)
– Human threats (traffic accident when dangerous substances can leak into
5th International Disaster and Risk Conference IDRC 2014
‘Integrative Risk Management - The role of science, technology & practice‘ • 24-28 August 2014 • Davos • Switzerland
www.grforum.org
the source of water, etc.)
– Technological threats (concerning operation of water infrastructure)
– „Dependent threats“ (blackouts, failure of telecommunications, etc.)

7. Project – encreasing resilience of water supply
5th International Disaster and Risk Conference IDRC 2014
‘Integrative Risk Management - The role of science, technology & practice‘ • 24-28 August 2014 • Davos • Switzerland
www.grforum.org
• Risk assessment:
– the degree of risk is assessed via risk index (IR):
IR = Likelihood * Imact
1) Likelihood of the threats
system

8. Project – encreasing resilience of water supply system
5th International Disaster and Risk Conference IDRC 2014
‘Integrative Risk Management - The role of science, technology & practice‘ • 24-28 August 2014 • Davos • Switzerland
www.grforum.org
2) Impact of the threats

9. Project – encreasing resilience of water supply
system
3) Risk index
• Final risk indexes show weaknesses („Achilles heels“) in the
5th International Disaster and Risk Conference IDRC 2014
‘Integrative Risk Management - The role of science, technology & practice‘ • 24-28 August 2014 • Davos • Switzerland
www.grforum.org
system:
• IRQUANTITY = Likelihood * IQUANTITY
• IRQUALITY = Likelihood * IQUALITY

10. Project – encreasing resilience of water supply system
5th International Disaster and Risk Conference IDRC 2014
‘Integrative Risk Management - The role of science, technology & practice‘ • 24-28 August 2014 • Davos • Switzerland
www.grforum.org
• Results for the critical element AT2 (river):
Risk index for amount of water Risk index for quality of water

11. Project – encreasing resilience of water supply system
• Information for crisis management authorities – assessement of:
5th International Disaster and Risk Conference IDRC 2014
‘Integrative Risk Management - The role of science, technology & practice‘ • 24-28 August 2014 • Davos • Switzerland
www.grforum.org
– Territorial impact
– Time needed for repairing the critical element
– Neccessity to involve the Crisis management authorities
• Results from risk assessment:
– The operator of water supply system puts the outputs from risk
assessment into his crisis preparedness plan
– The operator hands over relevant outputs from the risk assessment to
crisis management authorities and they should put them into crisis plan
fo the region and crisis plan of the municipality
→ sharing relevant outputs is basic condition for setting co-operation
between private sector (the operator) and public sector (crisis
management authorities) during crisis situation related to water supply

12. 5th International Disaster and Risk Conference IDRC 2014
‘Integrative Risk Management - The role of science, technology & practice‘ • 24-28 August 2014 • Davos • Switzerland
www.grforum.org
Czech Republic
• Czech Republic = „the roof of Europe“ – the only source of water is
atmospheric rain and snowfall
• 93 % inhabitants depend on public water supply system
• Main source of potable water – groundwater
• Current situation – the smallest amount of renewable water per
person annually (within EU) but not dependent on withdrawal of
water from neighboring countries (yet)
• Changes in available water resources concern Czech Republic too →
increase of average temperature, rainfall redistribution, fewer
snow-covered days, fall in ground water leveles in recent years
• Floods are the most prevalent natural hazard
• Water supply system = one of the nine sectors of critical
infrastructure ensuring basic human needs
• 2010 – security research program – dealing with the protection,
safety and increasing the resilience of critical infrastructure

13. Added value for the Post 2015 Framework for
5th International Disaster and Risk Conference IDRC 2014
‘Integrative Risk Management - The role of science, technology & practice‘ • 24-28 August 2014 • Davos • Switzerland
www.grforum.org
Disaster Risk Reduction
• How did your work support the implementation of the Hyogo
Framework for Action:
– The project takes into account current and future hazards for water
infrastructure
– Outcomes of the project can help to reduce vulnerability of cities and
community to disasters via resilient water critical infrastructure

14. 5th International Disaster and Risk Conference IDRC 2014
‘Integrative Risk Management - The role of science, technology & practice‘ • 24-28 August 2014 • Davos • Switzerland
www.grforum.org
Thank you for your attention!
jana.gebhartova@afconsult.com
www.af-cityplan.com