Stolen NYC Water Supply Map Raises Concerns

Experts on the environment and unconventional weapons have warned that terrorists could attack New York City’s water supply using a stolen map of the city’s water system, the New York Sun reported today (see GSN, Jan. 27).

Someone last week apparently broke into a vehicle belonging to an Environmental Protection Department maintenance supervisor and removed an agency laptop computer containing a New York City water distribution map, police said.

Depending on the level of detail on the map, “there could be the opportunity to pose a threat,” said Cindy Stachowski, executive director for the Center for Environmental Information.

Terrorists looking to hit a certain neighborhood could remove manhole covers and tamper with the pipes that bring water into homes, added one chemical and biological weapons expert.

Several vehicles were broken into along with the supervisor’s, and the map in question was a pictorial representation of city water mains, according to Charles Sturcken, chief spokesman for the department.

“It’s nothing you wouldn’t observe in the streets,” Sturcken said. “It’s nothing serious.”

President George W. Bush warned about a potential attack on city water systems in his 2002 State of the Union Address, the Sun reported (Lauren Elkies, New York Sun, Feb. 23).