You might not, on a daily basis, give much thought to the water that comes out of your faucets, and flushes your toilets.
But city security officials do.
They're spending lots of ratepayer dollars to keep that water, and wastewater, safe.
Now, when it comes to public utilities "infrastructure" -- dams, reservoirs, water and sewage treatment plants, pump stations and related facilities -- San Diego is looking at paying $14 million over five years to protect them from threats.
The ambient noise, smells and occasional sights at Pump Station 2 on North Harbor Drive, along San Diego Bay, quickly tell visitors the basics of what goes on in the raw sewage treatment process.
NBC 7 was on-site there Tuesday with clearance from the city’s Public Utilities Department, being observed from above by a security camera -- and careful not to make any false moves that would summon a security guard.
The City Council has just approved a new contract with a New Jersey-based company that'll assign several dozen security guards to provide specialized services at "critical" water and sewage facilities where hazardous materials are abundant.
"We have a significantly higher training requirement because of the facilities that we are using and because it's a resource for the city of San Diego,” said Dan Stone, the utility department’s manager of safety, security and training programs. “We want to insure that we have the best folks on it."
Back in the "Psychedelic Sixties" there were threats to put LSD in reservoirs.
And in the aftermath of the 9-11 terrorist attacks, the city temporarily shut down access to Lake Miramar until more security precautions were installed.
These days, the trouble generally comes from metal thieves, vandals and graffiti taggers.
City officials don't want anyone getting paranoid about the extent and nature of other threats to the water and sewer system.
“I don’t personally see an imminent threat to what we’re doing,” Stone told NBC 7. “But I would also say that San Diego is very well positioned with our law enforcement community, with the partnerships that we make strategically to make sure that we have a lot of intelligence available."
The contract is with the local branch of New Jersey-based Securitas Security Services USA.
The city's first-year cost will be nearly $2.5 million.
If all four annual renewal options are exercised, total cost to ratepayers will be $13.7 million.
