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A wholesale/retail model delivers drinking water to over 5 million residents in metropolitan Melbourne (Australia). Water Safety Plans were implemented in 1999 ahead of being regulatory mandated in 2003. With over 20 years of WSP application, this collaborative paper by the wholesaler and retailer utilities presents practical examples of drinking water quali...

This purpose of this Operational Policy is to provide an overview of the minimum requirements for the preparation and implementation of Water Safety Plans (WSPs) across a water supply system. This Operational Policy is not intended to replace any applicable regulatory requirements with respect to WSPs, but, rather, to provide some guidance on important aspec...

Practical guidance and training materials for small- and medium-sized water suppliers, and for those providing training and support to these suppliers, on strengthening operational monitoring practices – a core element of water safety planning. Training materials include a facilitator’s guide and PowerPoint slides....

In many countries of the World Health Organization (WHO) South-East Asia Region, drinking water is not used directly from the tap and faecal contamination of water sources is prevalent. As reflected in Sustainable Development Goal 6, access to safer drinking water is one of the most successful ways of preventing disease. The WHO Water Safety......

This document summarizes the management of risk from microbial regrowth in distribution systems through optimized chlorine disinfection. Considerations is also given to the potential for formation of disinfection by-products. Strategies for controlling these risks are presented....

In order to safeguard the public against waterborne diseases, water utilities must secure that multiple, microbial barriers are provided for in their drinking water systems. In most water utilities disinfection of the water represents an important barrier, but microbial barriers may also be achieved by other actions, for example in the catchment area. Based...

This study investigated the effectiveness of Water Safety Plans (WSP) implemented in 99 water supply systems across 12 countries in the Asia-Pacific region. An impact assessment methodology including 36 indicators was developed based on a conceptual framework proposed by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and before/after data were collected between Novemb...

The use of water safety plans (WSPs) has been recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) since 2004 as a highly effective means of improving water safety management. Experience with the implementation of WSPs is increasing worldwide, but there is no unified or standardized methodology for how the verification of a WSP should be conducted.......

Unsafe drinking water is a recognized health threat in Ethiopia, and climate change, rapid population growth, urbanization and agricultural practices put intense pressure on availability and quality of water. Climate change-related health problems due to floods and waterborne diseases are increasing. With increasing insight into impacts of climate change and...

Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) have a significant impact on health and, of particular concern as described in the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report on Extreme Events, are the risks of more frequent and intense extreme weather events such as floods, cyclones and droughts, alongside increasing temperatures. Such extremes pos...

Several Travel-associated Legionnaires’ disease (TALD) cases occur annually in Europe. Except from the most obvious sites (cooling towers and hot water systems), infections can also be associated with recreational, water feature, and garden areas of hotels. This argument is of great interest to better comprehend the colonization and to calculate the risk t...

This document highlights water quality risks from supplies that do not continuously supply water and outlines examples of measure to control these risks....

In recent years, the water safety plan approach has been extended towards climate-resilient water safety planning. This happened in response to increasing insight into impacts of climate on drinking-water and required adaptation to anticipated climate change. Literature was reviewed for published guidance and case examples, documenting how to consider climat...

The World Health Organization (WHO) promotes water safety plans (WSPs) – a risk-based management approach – for premise plumbing systems in buildings to prevent deterioration of drinking-water quality. Experience with the implementation of WSPs in buildings were gathered within a pilot project in Germany. The project included an evaluation of the feasibi...

In the Netherlands, safe and sufficient drinking water is provided to the general population by ten drinking water companies. To guarantee safe drinking water the World Health Organization (WHO) developed a Water Safety Plan (WSP), a Risk Assessment and a Risk Management (RA/RM) framework. The objective of the study was to identify legally required RA......

This text describes the processes involved in the design, installation and maintenance of effective plumbing systems. It also examines the microbiological, chemical, physical and financial risks associated with plumbing and emphasizes the importance of measures to conserve supplies of safe drinking-water. It is aimed at administrators and plumbers working in...

These Guidelines, specifically tailored to small water supplies, build on over 60 years of guidance by the World Health Organization (WHO) on drinking-water quality and safety. They focus on establishing drinking-water quality regulations and standards that are health based and context appropriate; on proactively managing risks through water safety planning ...

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....

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....

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. The Guidelines pos...

This publication describes the methods used in the surveillance of drinking-water quality in the light of the special problems of small-community supplies, particularly in developing countries, and outlines the strategies necessary to ensure that surveillance is effective. It is also concerned with the linkage between surveillance and remedial action and wit...

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...

根據世界衞生組織的建議，香港水務署於2017年制訂了《香港建築物食水安全計劃指引》，協助業主和物業管理人制訂和實施水安全計劃，以提升建築物的食水安全。指引及相關範本於2022年進行修訂並納入了最新資訊和實施經驗。截至2023年5月，全港約有4,000幢建築物實施了...

根據世界衞生組織的建議，香港水務署於2017年制訂了《香港建築物食水安全計劃指引》，協助業主和物業管理人制訂和實施水安全計劃，以提升建築物的食水安全。指引及相關範本於2022年進行修訂並納入了最新資訊和實施經驗。截至2023年5月，全港約有4,000幢建築物實施了...

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...

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...

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...

This publication is a guideline or how-to manual on preparing water service delivery plans with a focus on small to medium sized organised water utilities having with approximately 5,000 to over 100,000 connections mainly in areas with limited capacity and resources. The manual is simplified enough to ensure that these utilities are able to move......

Based on information gathered from 118 countries representing every region of the globe, this report provides a picture of WSP uptake worldwide. It presents information on WSP implementation and the integration of WSPs into the policy environment. It also explores WSP benefits, challenges and future priorities. It is envisaged that this report will serve as....

Water is a fundamental need in every person’s life and ensuring access to safe water for all without discrimination is a human right, recognized by the United Nations (UN) in 2010. The global commitment to safe water for all is further demonstrated through the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 targets to achieve universal and equitable......

Improved water safety management, as addressed by the Sustainable Development Goals, can be aided by Water Safety Planning, a risk-assessment and risk-management approach introduced by the World Health Organization and implemented to date in 93 countries around the globe. Yet, this approach still encounters some challenges in practice, including that of secu...

Dans le cadre des efforts continus en faveur de la sécurité sanitaire de l’eau de boisson et de la santé, de nombreux pays ont demandé des orientations concernant la façon d’introduire des plans de gestion de la sécurité sanitaire de l’eau (PGSSE) et d’élargir leur mise en oeuvre. Il n’existe ni modèle ni façon unique......

This package of materials is intended to support countries in developing (or strengthening) national schemes for regulatory auditing of water safety plans. Topics addressed include audit mandates and drivers, standardized audit criteria, auditor qualification and selection processes, financing and other mechanisms for audit functionality and sustainability. ...

Preparation of a well documented and up to date emergency management plan is an essential component of an effective incident response framework. The structure and content can only be determined by each water supply taking account of a wide range of different local factors. However this document provides a checklist of those items which need......

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....

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.......

La quatrième édition des Lignes directrices de l’OMS pour la qualité de l’eau potable s’appuie sur plus de 50 ans d’orientations sur la qualité de l’eau potable qui font autorité en matière de mesures de santé publique lorsqu’il s’agit de mettre en place des réglementations et des normes nationales pour garantir la s...

Since their incorporation into the 2004 version of the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality (GDWQ), Water Safety Plans (WSPs) continue to be the pre-eminent process for the delivery of safe drinking water to consumers. WSPs achieve this by prioritising proactive, rather than reactive, management of risks to drinking w...

This presentation describes the development and implementation of WSP in Tabriz in Iran under the guidance of the World Health Organization Regional Office....