Preparedness is an important issue in critical infrastructure

Critical infrastructure refers to activities, services or infrastructure that are necessary to maintain society's basic needs, values or safety. Within the water industry, the issue of preparedness is highly topical.

The Water Industry is the industry association for consultants, contractors and product suppliers within water purification and water treatment. The member companies are part of the complex system that ensures that drinking water supply and wastewater management, which must function 24 hours a day, all year round, also do so. Since the invasion of Ukraine and with Sweden's entry into NATO, new questions have been raised and a report on increased water supply preparedness was recently presented.

– Preparedness is a highly topical issue within the Water Industry due to several factors that affect the robustness and security of water supply. The recently presented VA-preparedness report, to which the Water Industry has participated and contributed, highlights critical aspects at a time when a stable water supply is fundamental to societal security. The report underlines the need for strengthened financing and governance to address existing shortcomings, such as neglected maintenance and investments, and to build a more resilient VA sector in relation to preparedness and climate change, says Joachim Jämttjärn, Secretary General of the Water Industry.

The water industry is actively working on emergency preparedness issues through the Threat & Security Focus Group, which is tasked with identifying the need for change and development in safety work within the water and sanitation sector.

“Our member companies possess extensive knowledge of threats and security, and we promote private-public collaboration as an indispensable part of the solution. We encourage our members to proactively analyze their roles, develop scenarios, and prioritize exercises and preparations to strengthen preparedness.”.

Neglected maintenance and climate adaptation make it difficult

In addition to ensuring that we can secure water and sewage management in times of crisis and heightened preparedness, the issue of neglected maintenance and the need for increased climate adaptation are crucial to Sweden's resilience.

“The challenges we face in maintaining and improving water supply preparedness include the need for increased investments to address neglected maintenance, developing robust systems to withstand different types of threats, and adapting to climate change that affects the availability and quality of water resources. It is also necessary to strengthen information security to protect against cyber threats that can affect critical systems,” says Joachim.

To improve preparedness, collaboration is an important ingredient according to Joachim:

– We collaborate with other actors in critical infrastructure by participating in cross-sector initiatives and forums. One example is the cooperation in the preparedness sector for food supply and drinking water, which aims to develop robust systems and strengthen Sweden's preparedness. We have also participated in the first meeting on private-public collaboration arranged by NATO.

Another crucial factor is knowledge sharing and information, which takes place, among other things, within the Water Industry's focus groups and at the meeting places that the association has laid the foundation for.

– We continuously work to spread knowledge and inform our members about emergency preparedness issues through our various meeting places such as the Water Industry Forum and the Water Meeting Place. By sharing experiences and knowledge, we together strengthen the sector's ability to handle crises and ensure a secure water supply.

To ensure good disaster preparedness, it is ultimately leadership on the issue and clear planning conditions that are called for by the members of the Water Industry:

“The importance of leadership and clear planning conditions to effectively meet the challenges we face will be crucial. A joint effort from all actors in the sector is required to build a sustainable and secure water supply for the future,” concludes Joachim.

Critical infrastructure

Critical infrastructure refers to activities, services or infrastructure that are essential to maintaining the basic needs, values or safety of society. Examples of critical infrastructure include water supply, energy supply, transport networks and communication systems. These systems must be robust and have the ability to recover quickly after incidents.

Safety & preparedness