Overview
ISO 24596:2024 - Drinking water, wastewater and stormwater systems and services - provides guidelines for planning and implementing infrastructure hardening for water and wastewater systems. Published in 2024, this international standard helps water utilities improve the resilience and security of water supply and sewer collection assets by defining risk-based protective measures. It applies to all water and/or wastewater utilities and covers electronic, physical, personnel and organizational hardening measures. (It does not cover protection of large water sources such as lakes or rivers.)
Key topics and requirements
- Risk-based approach: Hardening decisions should be informed by organizational and operational risk assessments and evolving national security guidance.
- Protection principles: Continuity of service, community and staff safety, and staged protection measures that combine physical, electronic, human and organizational controls.
- Risk assessment and vulnerability investigation: Includes guidance on vulnerability investigations, site security plans and all‑hazards risk assessments.
- Asset risk categorization: Prioritization of assets and recommended security treatment schedules based on criticality.
- Protective measures:
- Physical/property protection (e.g., fences, buildings, barriers).
- Electronic systems (e.g., alarms, cameras, integrated detection systems).
- Monitoring and detection (including links to event detection and water quality monitoring technologies).
- Human measures (access control, patrolling, alarm response).
- Organizational controls (policies, staffing, incident exercises).
- Defined security zones and validation of protection measures.
- Assessment and documentation: Protection assessment, ongoing review, corrective measures and mandatory documentation for implementation and auditability.
- Illustrative examples: Annexes provide practice-based configurations from several countries (e.g., Israel, Australia, Germany) for practical reference.
Applications
ISO 24596:2024 is intended for practical use in:
- Planning and prioritizing site hardening projects for treatment plants, pumping stations, reservoir sites and sewer assets.
- Developing site security plans, alarm response protocols and asset protection schedules.
- Selecting combinations of physical, electronic and organizational controls to reduce unauthorized access and deliberate disruption.
- Supporting business continuity, emergency preparedness and regulatory compliance programs for water utilities.
Who should use this standard
- Water utility managers and infrastructure planners
- Security and risk managers in the water sector
- Asset protection engineers and facility operators
- Regulators, consultants and emergency planners
Related standards
- ISO 24513 (vocabulary for water services)
- ISO/TS 24522 (event detection systems) and ISO/TS 24541 (monitoring guidance) - referenced for complementary technical detail.
Keywords: ISO 24596:2024, infrastructure hardening, water and wastewater systems, risk assessment, protective measures, water utility resilience.