Find WSP Resources

Water safety plans (WSPs) are the most effective means of consistently ensuring the safety of a drinking water supply. This WSP manual describes how to develop and implement a WSP in clear and practical terms. Stepwise advice is provided through 11 learning modules, each representing a key step in the WSP development and implementation process....

This checklist is conceived as an on-site, concise tool to support the Egyptian Water Regulatory Agency (EWRA) inspectors in performing a comprehensive audit of drinking water treatment plants. It covers both management and technical aspects of service provision in assuring adequate level of performance for health and environmental protection. The list is co...

This template is prepared based on recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) with an aim to assisting the management staff of a hospital to develop and implement Water Safety Plan (WSP) to enhance water safety. It covers the essential elements of WSPs and common requirements applicable to the plumbing layout of hospitals. In additional......

This Water safety plan manual provides practical guidance to support development and implementation of water safety planning in accordance with the principles presented in the WHO Guidelines for drinking-water quality. The manual is targeted at water suppliers and organizations supporting water safety planning programmes, including government agencies respon...

Describes resources developed by the World Health Organization (WHO), and partners, on various aspects of water safety planning, such as water safety plan development, implementation, training, advocacy and auditing....

Tailored guidance package to support rural water safety planning in Sri Lanka. Includes stepwise instructions for trainers to conduct a rural WSP training incorporating a field visit....

This interactive tool supports the implementation of the WSP step of hazard assessment by providing an overview of hazardous events, including those relating to climate change. The compilation was piloted and adapted based on experiences gathered, and aims to support practitioners, particularly water suppliers, health agencies and consultants, in implementin...

The lack of access to safe drinking-water is felt disproportionately by those who are disadvantaged socially, economically, demographically or geographically, and explicit consideration of these groups is required to understand and address disparities. This document describes how, with relatively modest efforts, the water safety plan (WSP) approach can bring...

Training videos on water safety planning are now available. The videos cover an introduction to water safety plan principles and steps, and water safety plan auditing. These videos are recordings from a bilateral training event organized by the WHO South-East Asia and Western Pacific Regional Offices, with support from WHO Headquarters. The content has been....

Water safety plans (WSPs) represent a holistic risk assessment and management approach covering all steps in the water supply process from the catchment to the consumer. Since 2004, the World Health Organization (WHO) has formally recommended WSPs as a public health intervention to consistently ensure the safety of drinking water. These risk management progr...

This document presents case studies from lower and higher income settings around the world that highlight O&M benefits resulting from WSP implementation. These case studies contribute to a growing body of information on the outcomes of water safety planning and may be useful in building support for WSPs among water sector senior managers, operational sta...

Water safety plans (WPS) have been implemented in every region of the world, and many implementing countries have included WSPs in drinking-water policies or regulations. Enforcement of WSP requirements, as well as general WSP success and sustainability, requires ongoing WSP auditing, i.e. independent and systematic checks of WSP completeness, implementation...

Set in Uganda, this short video documents how sanitary inspections can be applied as a basic risk management tool for small water supplies in resource limited settings. For more information, visit: https://www.surrey.ac.uk/department-civil-environmental-engineering/research/water-environment-and-health-engineering-group...

Example of a semi-quantitative risk matrix to classify the severity and likelihood of identified hazards and hazardous events....

This water safety plan (WSP) template was developed to support the integration of climate risks into the WSP approach in rural areas of the United Rep. of Tanzania. Examples are presented on how to complete the template, and the information should be considered and customized to the local context. This template is  based on WHO......

The training package consists of three components, a facilitator handbook, a participant workbook and accompanying PowerPoint presentations. It is structured around 13 learning modules based on the WHO/IWA WSP Manual: Step by step risk management for drinking-water supplies and the WHO/IWA WSP Quality Assurance Tool....

Beautiful short film on how to achieve safe drinking-water by Björn Weber, Oliver Meinborn and Grimme-price winner Ute Hilgeford. Launched by the World Health Organization on World Water Day 2019. The film-makers accompany a community in the mountains of Tajikistan – where water safety plans have been introduced for the first time in Central Asia.......

The Guidelines for drinking-water quality is an authoritative basis for the setting of national regulations and standards for water safety in support of public health. It provides guidance on ways of implementing its recommendations of contextual hazard identification and risk management, including catchment-to-consumer water safety plans....

This document provides guidance on developing and implementing a WSP auditing scheme, covering such topics as the aim and role of auditing, auditor training and certification, audit criteria, audit timing and frequency and audit reporting. The guidance document includes examples, tips, tools and case studies, and it serves as a practical resource for policy ...

This manual is designed to engage, empower and guide communities in the WSP development and implementation process. Guidance is provided on how to develop and implement a WSP through six achievable tasks. By following the WSP approach as described in this manual, small communities can improve the management of their drinking-water systems to achieve incremen...

Based on the World Health Organization’s recommendations, the Water Supplies Department of Hong Kong developed the Guidelines for Drinking Water Safety Plans for Buildings in Hong Kong in 2017 to assist owners and property management agents in developing and implementing Water Safety Plans to enhance water safety in buildings. The guidelines and associated...

This field guide provides a step-by-step introduction to the WSP approach and a range of ready-to-use templates to assist those locally involved in rural water supply to develop and implement their own WSPs. The field guide particularly addresses the rural community members responsible for the operation and management of their water supplies, as well as......

This tool is intended to support the practical application of the guidance presented in the Water safety plan manual: step-by-step risk management for drinking-water suppliers, second edition (WHO & IWA, 2023). Refer to Module 10 in the manual for detailed guidance. This tool provides key questions and considerations for conducting successful water safe...

This tool is intended to support the practical application of the guidance presented in the Water safety plan manual: step-by-step risk management for drinking-water suppliers, second edition (WHO & IWA, 2023). Refer to Module 4 in the manual for detailed guidance. This tool provides examples of risk matrices, to illustrate the wide range of options tha...

This publication provides practical guidance and best practices on the stages of developing safe rural drinking water delivery service schemes in West Bengal and other areas in India. Water safety planning is considered an international best practice for assessing and managing public health risks from drinking water supply systems. The Asian Development Bank...

This water safety plan country report for Sri Lanka shares the key learnings from the country’s WSP journey and achievements. The lessons learned can support the broader WSP global community for successful and practical WSP implementation....

The successful development and implementation of WSPs have many benefits common to all drinking water systems, with some that are unique to each system. The major benefit of implementation contributes to improving drinking water safety and quality. To achieve this WSPs provide a framework for risk reduction prevention of hazards and a better response to......

Предпринимая постоянные усилия по повышению безопасности питьевой воды и улучшению здоровья населения, многие страны запросили методические рекомендации о том, как внедрить и расширить масштаб�...

This Technical Brief, written by CAWST (Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technologies), integrates both approaches and introduces the importance of water safety planning for small communities. It describes the benefits of including household water treatment and safe storage (HWTS) in a water safety plan, and explains how the WSP approach can improv...

This WSP template as been developed and customized specifically for use in rural water supplies in Ghana. Text in yellow provides an example of how to complete each section. This template may be considered for use in other countries and regions, but must first be reviewed and adapted to suit the local context....

This training toolkit aims to support  roll-out of climate resilient WSPs in Nepal by capacitating national trainers. The training materials are based on international (WHO) and national (Department of Water Supply & Sanitation) best practices and experiences. The training toolkit contains a “Facilitators handbook”, “Participants workbook” and p...

根據世界衛生組織（WHO）的建議，香港水務署最近編制了建築物水安全計劃的指引和範本，協助業主或物業管理代理制訂水安全計劃，以風險為本和多重障礙的方法，加強建築物的食水安全。建築物水安全計劃的實施，有賴物業管理和水喉業界人士的共同努力，包括辨識和...

A community focused WSP template to support drinking water safety and security planning in Fiji. This template is designed to make risk assessment easier for community WSP implementation....

Ce guide vise à aider à l’élaboration et à la mise en œuvre de programmes d’audit des plans de gestion de la sécurité sanitaire de l’eau dédiés en définissant les principes et exigences les plus  importants. C’est une ressource pratique à l’intention des décideurs politiques, des organismes chargés de la réglementation ou de la surve...

Aims: The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended Water Safety Plans (WSPs) since 2004 as a means to reduce drinking water contamination and risks to human health. These risk management programs have shown promise across several potential areas of evaluation, such as economic benefits and regulatory compliance. Since WSPs are largely carried out by p...

One of the challenges in the implementation of Water Safety Plans (WSPs) is stakeholder engagement. For this reason, IHE Delft Institute for Water Education has developed a role-playing game for practising stakeholder collaboration in WSP. The game can be used in WSP training or during educational activities for water safety and WSP at graduate and......

Practical guidance and training materials for small- and medium-sized water supplies, and for those providing training and support to these suppliers, on strengthening chlorination practices – a common improvement need identified through the WSP process in the South-East Asia and Western Pacific regions. Training materials include a facilitator’s guide a...

В 2004 г. в опубликованном ВОЗ “Руководстве по обеспечению качества питьевой воды” поставщикам было рекомендовано разработать и осуществить планы обеспечения безопасности воды, чтобы можно б...

This template is prepared based on recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO)  to assist the owner or the house management staff of a residential care home for the elderly with an independent internal plumbing system to develop and implement a Water Safety Plan (WSP) to enhance water safety....

Climate-resilient water safety plans (CR-WSPs) extend the traditional WSP framework by also identifying and managing climate-related impacts on water supply systems to strengthen resilience. This compilation of information on hazardous events and their causes, including those related to climate impacts, aims to support practitioners, particularly water suppl...