Vulnerability Self Assessment Tool (VSAT Web)

Developer/Partners: EPA (2021)

Relevant Hazard/Threat(s): Security, natural disasters

Intent: Web-based tool to assist water and wastewater utility owners and operators with assessing security and natural disaster risks. It does not include a comprehensive list of all hazards and potential risks

VSAT Web offers a streamlined assessment of risk and resilience for water and wastewater utilities. Users first conduct a general assessment of utility resilience to threats that may impact operations. The next step is a qualitative assessment to identify asset categories for which a malevolent act or natural hazard pose a significant risk. Using the results of the qualitative risk assessment, VSAT then guides users through a quantitative  assessment of the risk of specific assets, as defined by the user within VSAT asset categories, to specific malevolent acts, natural hazards, or dependency/proximity threats. Following this assessment, users can choose to conduct an analysis of potential (future) countermeasures to quantify reductions in utility’s risk.

Inputs: The user walks through entering basic information about the wastewater or water utility, answers questions about its resilience, ID's critical asset categories, quantifies the risk of a specific event, and ID's countermeasures.
Outputs: The user can download a detailed report of the completed assessments and a certification of compliance with the requirement for a risk and resilience assessment in America's Water Infrastructure (AWIA)