A water safety plan is a plan to ensure the safety of

drinking water Drinking water is water that is used in drink or food preparation; potable water is water that is safe to be used as drinking water. The amount of drinking water required to maintain good health varies, and depends on physical activity level, ...

through the use of a comprehensive

risk assessment Broadly speaking, a risk assessment is the combined effort of: # identifying and analyzing potential (future) events that may negatively impact individuals, assets, and/or the environment (i.e. hazard analysis); and # making judgments "on the ...

and risk management approach that encompasses all steps in

water supply Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Th ...

from

catchment A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

to consumer.

Origins

According to the World Health Organization, "During the revision of the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level o ...

(WHO) Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality (GDWQ) leading to the 3rd edition, the value of the Water Safety Plan (WSP) approach has repeatedly been highlighted ... in a series of expert review meetings in Berlin (2000), Adelaide (2001) and Loughborough (2001)." Water safety plans are considered by the WHO as the most effective means of maintaining a safe supply of

to the public. Their use should ensure that water is safe for all forms of human consumption and that it meets regulatory water standards relating to human health. ("Consumption" includes not only drinking ''per se'', but also other forms of ordinary contact, such as bathing, dishwashing, and inhaling aerosolised water droplets). Comprehensive

and risk management form the backbone of these plans, which aim to steer management of drinking water-related health risks away from end-of-pipe monitoring and response. The principles and concepts of other risk management paradigms are extensively drawn upon in WSP design, including the

multi-barrier approach The Multi-barrier approach is a key paradigm for ensuring safe drinking water in jurisdictions such as Ontario, elsewhere in Canada, and New Zealand. It is defined as, An integrated system of procedures, processes and tools that collectively prevent ...

and

HACCP Hazard analysis and critical control points, or HACCP (), is a systematic preventive approach to food safety from biological, chemical, and physical hazards in production processes that can cause the finished product to be unsafe and designs mea ...

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In order to produce a plan, a thorough assessment of the water supply process from water source to the consumer's tap must be carried out by the water provider. Hazard

A hazard is a potential source of harm. Substances, events, or circumstances can constitute hazards when their nature would allow them, even just theoretically, to cause damage to health, life, property, or any other interest of value. The probab ...
s and risk

In simple terms, risk is the possibility of something bad happening. Risk involves uncertainty about the effects/implications of an activity with respect to something that humans value (such as health, well-being, wealth, property or the environm ...
s should be identified, and appropriate steps towards minimizing these risks are then investigated.

Key components

There are three key components to any Water Safety Plan (WSP):
# a system assessment, which determines if the drinking water supply chain as a whole is capable of supplying water of sufficiently high a standard to meet regulatory targets;
# operational monitoring, in order to identify control measures in the drinking water system; and
# management plans, which document the system assessment, describe actions taken during various operational conditions and define monitoring and communication plans.

WSPs in England and Wales

The Drinking Water Inspectorate The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) is a section of Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) set up to regulate the public water supply companies in England and Wales.

Based in Whitehall, it produces an annual report showing ...
(DWI) of England and Wales strongly supports the WHO's WSP initiative and offers guidance and support to water suppliers on the implementation of these plans.

The Department of Health

A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their ow ...
give clear guidance on the creation and implementation of water safety plans for hospitals in thei
HTM 04-01 – safe water in healthcare premises

A new British Standard (2020) gives recommendations and guidance on the development of a Water Safety Plan (WSP). The standard is intended to be used as a code of practice to demonstrate current good practice and compliance
BS 8680:2020 Water quality. Water safety plans. Code of practice

Key Steps for a Water Safety Plan

# Assemble expert team - a group that is responsible to prepare and have documents of the process
# Hazard assessment - identify hazards at every step of the supply chain
# Risk assessment - carried out a hazard affecting the water supply system
# Identify control measurements - identify control measures for every risk that is relevant
# Management control - control the system regularly and check for fails
# Validation monitoring - prepare to verify the monitoring check of WSP
# Supporting programmes- develop people's skills, quality control and knowledge of water safety
# All of the above - all elements of the WSP

Small Water supply

Small supplies are associated with waterborne disease outbreaks more than larger water supply systems. Small supplies are typically more prone to collapse and spoilage than massive water supply systems and often face more administrative, financial or resource challenges. Looking to invest in small supplies of water will minimize outbreaks of waterborne disease and overall costs in terms of preventing disease, death, and associated costs of healthcare.

* Food safety

Food safety (or food hygiene) is used as a scientific method/discipline describing handling, preparation, and storage of food in ways that prevent food-borne illness. The occurrence of two or more cases of a similar illness resulting from ...

* ISO 14001
ISO 14000 is a family of standards related to environmental management that exists to help organizations (a) minimize how their operations (processes, etc.) negatively affect the environment (i.e. cause adverse changes to air, water, or land); (b) ...

* Water quality

Water quality refers to the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of water based on the standards of its usage. It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which compliance, generally achieved through tr ...

See also

* Water security

Water security is the focused goal of water policy and water management. A society with a high level of water security makes the most of water's benefits for humans and ecosystems and limits the risk of destructive impacts associated with water. T ...

References

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