Water safety plan

About: Water safety plan is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 216 publications have been published within this topic receiving 3128 citations.

Water safety plan manual: Step-by-step risk management for drinking-water suppliers.

Abstract: The most effective means of consistently ensuring the safety of a drinking-water supply is through the use of a comprehensive risk assessment and risk management approach that encompasses all steps in water supply from catchment to consumer. In these Guidelines such approaches are called water safety plans (WSPs). The aim of this Manual is to provide that practical guidance to facilitate WSP development focusing particularly on organized water supplies managed by a water utility or similar entity. (Excerpts)

Water safety plans: managing drinking-water quality from catchment to consumer

Abstract: Annette Davison, Water Futures, Dundas Valley, Australia, Guy Howard, DFID Bangladesh, United House, 10 Gulshan Avenue, Gulshan 1, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh Melita Stevens, Melbourne Water, Melbourne, Australia Phil Callan, National Health and Medical Research Council, Woden, Australia Lorna Fewtrell, Centre for Research into Environment and Health, Aberystwyth, Wales Dan Deere, Water Futures, Dundas Valley, Australia Jamie Bartram, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland

Protecting Groundwater for Health: Managing the Quality of Drinking-water Sources

Abstract: Protecting drinking-water resources is the first barrier against pathogens and substances hazardous to health. Practitioners in drinking-water supply or surveillance - from the local and technical level up to senior management - have a key role in initiating collaboration with other sectors, such as environment, land-use planning, or agriculture towards safeguarding drinking-water sources. Protecting Groundwater for Health provides a structured approach to analysing hazards to groundwater quality, assessing the risk they may cause for a specific supply, setting priorities in addressing these, and developing management strategies for their control. For health professionals, it thus is a tool for access to environmental information needed for such a process, and for professionals from other sectors, it gives a point of entry for understanding health aspects of groundwater management. This book presents tools for developing strategies to protect groundwater for health by managing the quality of drinking-water sources. Section I covers the natural science background needed to understand which pathogens and chemicals are relevant to human health, how they are transported in the sub-surface and how they may be reduced, removed or retarded. Section II provides guidance for compiling information needed to characterise the drinking-water catchment area in order to assess health hazards potentially reaching groundwater. Section III provides conceptional guidance on prioritising both hazards and management responses. Section IV provides an overview of the potential management actions that may be taken to protect drinking-water sources. These begin with their integration into a comprehensive Water Safety Plan that covers all supply steps from catchment to consumer. Section V provides an overview of measures to prevent pollution from human activities in the catchment, beginning with the overarching issues of policy, land-use planning and implementation for protecting groundwater. Overviews are presented of the specific management approaches that help avoid groundwater pollution from the range of human activities in the catchment, i.e. agriculture, sanitation practices, industry, mining, military sites, waste disposal and traffic.

Benefits of Water Safety Plans: Microbiology, Compliance, and Public Health

Abstract: The Water Safety Plan (WSP) methodology, which aims to enhance safety of drinking water supplies, has been recommended by the World Health Organization since 2004. WSPs are now used worldwide and are legally required in several countries. However, there is limited systematic evidence available demonstrating the effectiveness of WSPs on water quality and health. Iceland was one of the first countries to legislate the use of WSPs, enabling the analysis of more than a decade of data on impact of WSP. The objective was to determine the impact of WSP implementation on regulatory compliance, microbiological water quality, and incidence of clinical cases of diarrhea. Surveillance data on water quality and diarrhea were collected and analyzed. The results show that HPC (heterotrophic plate counts), representing microbiological growth in the water supply system, decreased statistically significant with fewer incidents of HPC exceeding 10 cfu per mL in samples following WSP implementation and noncompliance was also significantly reduced (p < 0.001 in both cases). A significant decrease in incidence of diarrhea was detected where a WSP was implemented, and, furthermore, the results indicate that population where WSP has been implemented is 14% less likely to develop clinical cases of diarrhea.