Latest news
Survey on water safety and COVID-19 for drinking water utilities and health/environmental authorities
You are cordially invited to participate in a survey that aims at evaluating the use and relevance of Water Safety Plans or any similar risk management practice used by water utilities around the world to face the challenges posed by the COVID-19 crisis.
 This survey is part...
New sanitary inspection packages for drinking-water
Sanitary inspections support the assessment and management of risks within drinking-water supply systems. This standardized field-based approach assists key implementation activities within the WHO’s Framework for safe drinking-water. As part of the re...
Water Safety Plans: Auditing under uncertainty – 25 June 2020, 14h30 CET
Water Safety Plan (WSP) auditing is a critical element in the sustainable implementation of WSPs. Auditing provides a check that the WSP is complete, up-to-date and is being implemented effectively. The process supports continuous improvement, a cornerstone of the WSP approac...
The climate resilience role for water safety plans
Water safety plans (WSPs) provide a comprehensive risk assessment and risk management approach that enables utilities to consider the hazards at every step of the water supply chain, from the catchment to the consumer. They are widely accepted as the most effective means of consi...
Blog: Adaptation as part of Water Wise Cities
Climate change is now a constant topic of discussion among scientists and activists. Though it may be seen as an issue, people may not see it as a priority as it is largely invisible to the average human. It is not always evident how it is affecting our wellbeing, ecosystems or h...
Water Safety Plan for host community and refugee camps in Gambella, Ethiopia
Ethiopia
IHE Delft joined forces with the local water utility in Gambella, multilateral organizations (UNICEF and UNHCR), NGOs (Oxfam and IRC) and local consultants, and provided a training to start up the development of a Water Safety Plan for Itang water supply system, which privides se...
Launch of new WHO WASH reflections series
Global
This new series offers insights on addressing today’s key WASH and health challenges, sharing honest reflections based on real-world experiences.
 The first issue in the series Water safety planning: What have we learned so far? shares lessons learned from the past 15 years ...
Climate Smart Water – the road to resilience
Climate resilience needs to be built and coordinated at the basin, city and utility level to ensure adaptation measures for water systems are effective and integrate with other urban services....
Climate Resilient Water Safety Planning to Improve Water Supply and Public Health
A set of trainings under the Climate Resilient Water Safety Planning to Improve Water Supply and Public Health project were launched in February 2019. The trainings are the first phase of the project that seeks to address how utilities can use WSPs to better prepare and respond t...
Training about prevention, detection and management of arsenicosis in India
Arsenic contamination in sources of drinking water has become a serious cause of concern for human life in Assam, India. The long-term exposure to arsenic, mainly through drinking-water and food, can lead to chronic arsenic poisoning and most characteristically skin lesions...
The role of digitised information in water safety planning
Digital tools, which provide water utility operators with accurate and timely information, can improve drinking water quality and ensure better water safety planning, experts say....
Linking Flood and Drought Data to Water Safety Planning: Parts 1-5
In this 5 part blog series, Matthew Damon of Emanti Management introduces and guides users through different elements of the Flood and Drought portal, which was developed as an output of the Flood and Drought Management Tools (FDMT) project.
About the Flood and Drought Manage...
Webinar Series on Climate Smart Utilities
Climate change impacts, such as water quality degradation, water shortage and scarcity can severely impact the ability of water utilities to supply their customers. Water utilities responsible for drinking-water safety need to understand how climate change is affecting water reso...
Water Research in Canada’s Arctic
For the past year I’ve had the privilege of managing a water research project in one of the most northern communities in Canada, Pond Inlet (Mittimatalik), Nunavut. This community is located above the Arctic Circle and is one of the few inhabited places in the world where you can experience the midnight sun – that is, where the sun remains above the horizon 24 hours a day during the summer months.
Strengthening Operations & Maintenance through Water Safety Planning: New Edition Launch
IWA and WHO are pleased to announce the upcoming release of a new version of Strengthening Operations & Maintenance through Water Safety Planning: A Collection of Case Studies. The document will be formally launched during IWA’s World Water Congress, held in Tokyo on 16-21...
Advancing climate resilient water services in Wukro, Ethiopia
Wukro is a small town in Ethiopia with a relatively common problem: water availability is seasonal and vulnerable to climatic events. The rainfall in this semi-arid environment falls mostly in just two months  of the year. Water managers need to ensure stored water is available ...
UNC Institute for Water: Water Safety Plans Webinar Audio link
Global
A webinar on "Water Safety Plan Implementation, Evaluation & Scale-up" was presented live by The Water Institute at University of North Carolina on the 23 of May 2018. If you missed it, follow this link for an audio recording of the webinar: https://unc.warpwire.com/w/j1UAAA/...
What Is the Future of Water and Public Health? Call for abstracts extended!
Royal Society for Public Health invites the submission of abstracts for the 2018 'What Is the Future of Water and Public Health?‘ conference. The deadline for submissions is 11pm on 30 June 2018....
10 lessons for Utility Specialists
Ambiguity and paradox management are as much daily concerns for water utility leaders as integrated water resources management. Opening a drinking water tap is a simple and cheap daily activity, one that is considered a given in many parts of the world....
Safe drinking-water in Europe?
Millions of people in the WHO European Region drink contaminated water, often without knowing it. WHO estimates that, every day, 14 people die of diarrhoeal disease due to inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH)....
A water utility’s journey to climate resilience
While attending a recent event, a representative of an international development agency argued that, if we had spent as much money on sanitation as we have on drinking water, the seemingly endless sanitation crisis in many part of the world would already have been solved. This st...
UNC Webinar: Water Safety Plans
A WSP webinar is being held on Wednesday, May 23 8:30-10:00 AM EST hosted from the 2018 UNC Water Microbiology Conference. This webinar will convene a panel of experts to discuss recent research on Water Safety Plans and drinking water policy changes in Europe.
Water Safety Pl...
Launch of WHO water safety plan audit guide in French
Originally published in English in 2015, WHOs A practical guide to auditing water safety plans provides guidance on developing and implementing a water safety plan auditing scheme....
Feedback sought on draft document: Equity in water safety planning
Water safety plans (WSPs) provide a well established and widely accepted framework to contribute to the human right to water and the Sustainable Development Goal target to achieve, by 2030, universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all. WHO has ther...
Publication of WHO’s Potable reuse: Guidance for producing safe drinking-water
Global
This document describes how to apply appropriate management systems to produce safe drinking-water from municipal wastewater. Information is provided on specific aspects of potable reuse, including the quality and protection of source wastewaters, types of control measure monitor...
English translation – The Microbial Barrier Analysis (MBA) Guideline
Global
Based on experiences from Norway, Sweden and Finland, this guideline is a helpful tool for implementing Water Safety Plans. Finally available in English, the guideline explains the "barrier concept" and assist water utilities as well as their their consultants in determining ...
Publication of ADB/WHO handbook on Water Safety Planning for Urban Utilities
This handbook provides practical guidance on integrating the WSP approach into ADB's urban water projects to facilitate compliance with global good practices. Following the WHO’s Water Safety Plan Manual (2009), adapted to ADB’s operations, this handbook offers step-by-step g...
Launch of Global Status Report on Water Safety Plans
To understand WSP progress to date and to inform the future WSP support agenda, WHO and the International Water Association have undertaken a global review of WSP experiences. Based on information gathered from 118 countries representing every region of the world, this report pro...
Davao Water District Launches New Water Safety Plan
Philippines, Western Pacific
Davao City Water District (DCWD) launched its updated Water Safety Plan (WSP) this month. Among the upcoming activities are the WSP orientation to DCWD employees, the WSP Stakeholder Forum, and the WSP Internal and External Audit. The orientation is the first activity in the WSPâ...
Happy New Year from the Water Safety Portal
To read our 2016 end-of-the-year Newsletter or subscribe to future editions, please visit:
http://us8.campaign-archive2.com/?u=74edc4ba9b90d5e4db2355c52&id=a563b2b08c&e=df0ec91b00...
WHO urban WSP training package available to download
Developed by the South-East Asia Regional Office of WHO, this urban WSP training package may be used either to train trainers or to train operators of water supply utilities or sector stakeholders. The materials are intended for use by governments, NGOs, private sector, academic ...
Call for water safety plan trainers for global training event
Global
In order to strengthen the quality and consistency of future water safety plan (WSP) training events, WHO is hosting a global WSP training of trainer (ToT) event from 14–18 November 2016.
This global ToT event will seek to strengthen global trainer capacity, promote awarenes...
Launch of WHO publication Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment
Global
Quantitative microbial risk assessment: application for water safety management synthesizes the current knowledge on quantitative microbial risk assessment to facilitate its application in the practice of water supply, water reuse and water recreation to support the management of...
Launch of WHO publication Protecting Surface Water for Health
Global
Protecting surface water for health: identifying, assessing and managing drinking-water quality risks in surface-water catchments provides a structured approach to the assessment and management of drinking-water quality related risks in surface-water catchments. The publication ...
Key changes for water safety management within healthcare premises
United Kingdom
Last month the UK Department of Health released an updated version of the Health Technical Memorandum (HTM04-01), which gives advice and guidance on the maintenance, operation and management of water systems within healthcare premises. Water safety groups (WSG) and water safety ...
Peruvian and Brazilian operators collaborate to improve security for staff and customers
Brazil, Peru
EMSAPUNO (Peru) water utility, operates under challenging topographic conditions in Puno in terms of water service provision. With limited space for expansion on flat land around the only freshwater source, Lake Titicaca, the operators incur high energy and maintenance costs asso...
Water Safety Plan for Dominica being examined by stakeholders
Roseau, Dominica
A two-day National Stakeholder Consultation to assist in the development of a Water Safety Plan has commenced in Dominica. It is being hosted by the Dominica Water and Sewerage Company Limited (DOWASCO) in collaboration with the Environmental Health and Sustainable Development (...
Global Water Safety Conference & New WSPortal launch
Global
The Global Water Safety Conference was held on April 25-29, 2016, in Palawan, Philippines. The event was organized by the International Water Association (IWA) and the Philippine Water Works Association (PWWA), and co-sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The focus...
Think big, start small, scale up – new French version
Global
Originally published in English in 2010, this document provides a 'road map' to support WSP implementation on a national level, providing guidance for country planners on how to initiate and carry out WSP implementation. This French language edition marks the first release in a s...
Blog: Dan Deere – How safe is our water?
Global
The World Health Organisation and its partners have set guideline values and health-based targets, helping define what concentration of hazardous chemicals and pathogens constitutes a 'safe' concentration for human consumption. So we have an agreed definition of 'safe' water, but...