Mary Rooke Commentary and Analysis Writer
Divers surveying a local dam in Mobile, Alabama, found a grenade-type improvised explosive device (IED) underwater on Wednesday.
The Mobile Area Water and Sewer System (MAWSS) announced that divers found the device at the Converse Reservoir dam while performing a routine maintenance survey. The Converse Reservoir dam is a federally designated critical infrastructure site that supplies drinking water to the area. MAWSS notified authorities, including the Gulf Coast Regional Maritime Response and Render-Safe Team, Mobile County Sheriff’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Bomb Squad, and others of the device.
The Gulf Coast Regional Maritime Response and Render-Safe Team successfully retrieved and detonated the IED, according to MAWSS.
MAWSS Director Bud McCrory called the finding “an unprecedented threat.”
“Our top priority is keeping your drinking water safe,” said McCrory. “This is an unprecedented threat, and we are fortunate that this device was discovered before it could cause serious damage to our water supply or harm to individuals. We are grateful for the professionalism and competency of our law enforcement partners – as well as the quick thinking of our contractors and divers – in identifying this device and safely destroying it.
Joshua Steinman, who worked for the National Security Council during the first Trump administration, posted “Check every dam” in response to reports of the incident. He has frequently posted warnings that U.S. infrastructure is at risk of attacks like this due to open borders policies during the Biden administration.
In 2021, Steinman wrote a 14-post thread on the “ongoing WAVE of low-key attacks on the US power grid.” He highlighted attacks and threats in other states, including Florida, Washington, Oregon and North Carolina. At the time, he said the threats and attacks appeared to be coming from a professional operation, likely foreign. (Sign up for Mary Rooke’s weekly newsletter here!)
He assessed that three things were taking place to allow these incidents: “Our critical infrastructure is not well protected, physically + digitally. Foreign + domestic Insurgent groups operate openly on U.S. soil. ‘[C]overt’ actions aren’t so covert anymore.”
There is an ongoing WAVE of low key attacks on the US power grid.
Nobody wants to *really* talk about it.
So I will.
Gonna be a free form thread as I am midair, back to back once I land in 60m, so RT this topper and I will add content over the next 48h 👇👇👇
1/
— joshua steinman (🇺🇸,🇺🇸) (@JoshuaSteinman) December 8, 2022
Steinman has been particularly concerned about potential attacks from China, including filing an amicus brief in Trump v. Barbara arguing that unrestricted birthright citizenship creates a loophole that can be exploited by adversarial countries. He cited China as an example.
He also highlighted a Wall Street Journal report in January about Chinese hackers who have “gained the ability to shut down dozens of U.S. ports, power grids, and other infrastructure targets at will.”
While no one was injured, and the water supply was not affected, an undetected device like this could have damaged the dam, contaminated the drinking water supply, or caused major service disruptions for thousands of people in Mobile and surrounding areas.
Americans rely on these systems for safe water, electricity generation, agriculture, and everyday life. A successful attack could cause untold chaos. This type of underwater IED at a dam is a low-tech way to target critical infrastructure and create widespread impact.
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