EPA Releases VSAT 6.0

EPA developed the Vulnerability Self-Assessment Tool (VSAT) to assist water and wastewater utilities of all sizes with determining vulnerabilities to both man-made and natural hazards and with evaluating potential improvements to enhance their security and resiliency.  As an update to earlier versions, VSAT 6.0 has been designed to be consistent with the ANSI/AWWA J100-10 Risk Analysis and Management for Critical Asset Protection (RAMCAP®) Standard for Risk and Resilience Management of Water and Wastewater Systems. To meet this standard, VSAT 6.0 includes quantitative risk and resilience metrics, asset prioritization and a new threat category to assess interdependencies.

To assist small systems and new users in building an assessment, VSAT now includes a new Analysis Wizard with abbreviated lists and default assignments for common utility assets, countermeasures, and threats. Plus, data from earlier assessments made with SEMS (Security and Emergency Management System) can be imported directly into VSAT.

Go to http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/watersecurity/techtools/vsat.cfm to learn more about VSAT and to access both basic and advanced training videos on its use.  For general questions and assistance, send an email request to  VSATHelp@epa.gov.

EPA strongly encourages water and wastewater utility owners and operators to use VSAT 6.0 to conduct or update an all-hazards risk assessment.