Insights into the challenges of risk characterization using drinking water safety plans

2017 ◽  
Vol 44 (5) ◽  
pp. 321-328 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yvonne Post ◽  
Emma Thompson ◽  
Edward McBean
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Water System ◽  
Drinking Water Treatment ◽  
Risk Scores ◽  
Water Safety ◽  
Drinking Water Safety ◽  
Water Safety Plan ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Water Safety Plans ◽  
High Degree

Risk assessment methodologies, specifically water safety plans (WSPs), provide a water operator with a greater awareness of the drinking water system and the hazards that may occur. This brings key issues to the forefront and promotes a proactive approach to drinking water safety. This paper identifies the challenges in completing a WSP and evaluates the robustness of procedures. Experts knowledgeable in drinking water treatment were asked to complete Alberta’s Drinking Water Safety Plan template for a hypothetical community. Findings from use of a condensed version of the WSP are also described, and the resulting risk scores obtained from both methodologies are compared. A high degree of variability between experts’ responses was observed from both; however, trends between responses show that the condensed WSP makes it easier to compare hazards relative to each other, to determine key risk areas that warrant more attention.

Implementation of Alberta's drinking water safety plans

2013 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. C. Reid ◽  
K. Abramowski ◽  
A. Beier ◽  
A. Janzen ◽  
D. Lok ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Effective Action ◽  
Main Element ◽  
Quality And Safety ◽  
Biological Parameters ◽  
Water Safety ◽  
Drinking Water Safety ◽  
Regulatory Approach ◽  
Water Safety Plans ◽  
Safety Of Drinking Water

Traditionally, the regulatory approach to maintaining the quality and safety of drinking water has largely been a prescriptive one based on the ability of any given supply to meet standards set for a number of different chemical and biological parameters. There are a number of issues around the assumptions and the limitations of a sampling and analysis regime. The basis for such regimes is essentially reactive rather than proactive and, consequently, the cause of the concern may already have impacted consumers before any effective action can be taken. Environment and Sustainable Resource Development has developed a template for recording drinking water safety plans together with guidance notes to help complete them. The template has been developed in MS-Excel and has been designed in a straightforward step-wise manner with guidance on the completion of each sheet. It includes four main risk tables covering each main element of water supply which are pre-populated with commonly found ‘generic’ risks and these are carefully assessed before considering what action is required to deal with significant risks. Following completion of the risk tables, key risks are identified and the interventions required to bring them into control.

scholarly journals Opportunistic pathogens and faecal indicators in drinking water associated biofilms in Cluj, Romania

2012 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 471-483 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Farkas ◽  
M. Drăgan-Bularda ◽  
D. Ciatarâş ◽  
B. Bocoş ◽  
Ş. Ţigan
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
Water System ◽  
Drinking Water Treatment ◽  
Microbial Consortia ◽  
Opportunistic Pathogens ◽  
Water Safety ◽  
Potential Threat ◽  
Faecal Indicators

Biofouling occurs without exception in all water systems, with undesirable effects such as biocorrosion and deterioration of water quality. Drinking water associated biofilms represent a potential risk to human health by harbouring pathogenic or toxin-releasing microorganisms. This is the first study investigating the attached microbiota, with potential threat to human health, in a public water system in Romania. The presence and the seasonal variation of viable faecal indicators and opportunistic pathogens were investigated within naturally developed biofilms in a drinking water treatment plant. Bacterial frequencies were correlated with microbial loads in biofilms as well as with physical and chemical characteristics of biofilms and raw water. The biofilms assessed in the current study proved to be extremely active microbial consortia. High bacterial numbers were recovered by cultivation, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Aeromonas hydrophila, intestinal enterococci and Clostridium perfringens. There were no Legionella spp. detected in any biofilm sample. Emergence of opportunistic pathogens in biofilms was not significantly affected by the surface material, but by the treatment process. Implementation of a water safety plan encompassing measures to prevent microbial contamination and to control biofouling would be appropriate.

Success or failure: demonstrating the effectiveness of a Water Safety Plan

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 109-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. M. Mudaliar
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Water Supply ◽  
Performance Indicators ◽  
Drinking Water Supply ◽  
Water Safety ◽  
Performance Targets ◽  
Drinking Water Safety ◽  
Water Supply Management ◽  
Safety Plan ◽  
Water Safety Plan

The Water Safety Plan (WSP) concept has become a globally recognised and accepted approach to drinking water supply management and operation. Many countries around the world are adopting this proactive, risk-based model for ensuring consistent confidence in drinking water safety, accessibility and affordability. While it is widely accepted that the WSP concept is an appropriate tool for ensuring drinking-water supply efficiency, the process for gathering the required evidence to demonstrate this continues to be rather vague. The problem may lie fundamentally in the way WSPs are developed and implemented. This paper discusses the need for establishing performance targets, identifying key performance indicators and monitoring these to build a body of evidence that would be instrumental in demonstrating whether WSPs are effective or not.

scholarly journals Drinking-water safety – challenges for community-managed systems

2008 ◽  
Vol 6 (S1) ◽  
pp. 33-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Rizak ◽  
Steve E. Hrudey
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Failure Modes ◽  
Water System ◽  
Disease Outbreaks ◽  
Warning Signs ◽  
Water Safety ◽  
Waterborne Disease ◽  
Drinking Water Safety ◽  
Weather Events

A targeted review of documented waterborne disease outbreaks over the past decades reveals some recurring themes that should be understood by drinking-water suppliers. Evidence indicates the outbreaks are often linked to some significant change in conditions that provides a sudden challenge to a water system. Severe weather events, such as heavy rainfall or runoff from snow melt, as well as treatment process and system changes, are common risk factors for drinking-water outbreaks. Failure to recognise warning signs and complacency are important contributors to drinking water becoming unsafe. Drinking-water suppliers must focus on competence and vigilance in maintaining effective multiple barriers appropriate to the challenges facing the drinking-water system. Understanding the risk factors and failure modes of waterborne disease outbreaks is an essential component for effective management of community drinking-water supplies and ensuring the delivery of safe drinking-water to consumers.

The human dimension of water safety plans: a critical review of literature and information gaps

2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan Kot ◽  
Heather Castleden ◽  
Graham A. Gagnon
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Community Readiness ◽  
Water Safety ◽  
Plan Implementation ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Safety Plan ◽  
Water Safety Plan ◽  
Building Community ◽  
Water Safety Plans

A safe supply of drinking water is a cornerstone of public health and community well-being. Complacency among those responsible for the provision of safe drinking water (e.g., water suppliers, operators, and managers) has led to numerous and otherwise avoidable waterborne outbreaks. Water safety plans present a risk-based, proactive framework for water management, and when properly implemented, virtually eliminates the option for complacency. However, the uptake of water safety plans remain limited worldwide. This paper reports on the experiences of early water safety plan adopters and identifies a number of non-technical operational and human factors that have undermined previous efforts. Specifically, it identifies these factors as a gap in the water safety plan implementation literature and suggests incorporating the broader community in water safety planning through a community readiness approach. Assessing and building community readiness for water safety plans is suggested to be a critical pre-implementation step, and a potential tool for use by water suppliers and by policy makers.

Drinking water safety plans: barriers and bridges for small systems in Alberta, Canada

Water Policy ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 1140-1154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erika Perrier ◽  
Megan Kot ◽  
Heather Castleden ◽  
Graham A. Gagnon
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Management Approach ◽  
Small Community ◽  
Water Safety ◽  
Water Supplies ◽  
Small Communities ◽  
Implementation Challenges ◽  
Drinking Water Safety ◽  
Water Safety Plans

Water safety plans provide a relatively new management approach for identifying and addressing risks in a water supply. In 2011, the province of Alberta (Canada) became the first jurisdiction in North America to require that all water supplies develop drinking water safety plans (DWSPs). This research explored the implementation of DWSPs through the experiences of ‘early adopter’ operators who work in small communities. Specifically, in-person open-ended qualitative interviews with operators from 15 small communities from across Alberta were conducted to explore implementation challenges and opportunities. The findings highlight a number of barriers associated with the relationships between decision-making bodies, regulatory authorities and water operators, all of which have the potential to support or hinder the uptake of a DWSP. Findings also indicate that a DWSP can act as a bridge, providing a much-needed tool to facilitate communication about water supplies and help to support and manage relationships between stakeholders. This study revealed a number of important and useful insights to the small community early DWSP adopter experience in Canada that could be applied in other jurisdictions looking to adopt similar practices.

Identification, assessment, and control of hazards in water supply: experiences from Water Safety Plan implementations in Germany

2010 ◽  
Vol 61 (5) ◽  
pp. 1307-1315 ◽  
Author(s):  
H.-J. Mälzer ◽  
N. Staben ◽  
A. Hein ◽  
W. Merkel
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Water Treatment ◽  
Water Supply ◽  
Drinking Water Treatment ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
World Health ◽  
Water Safety ◽  
Water Safety Plan ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
And Control

According to the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) for Water Safety Plans (WSP), a Technical Risk Management was developed, which considers standard demands in drinking water treatment in Germany. It was already implemented at several drinking water treatment plants of different size and treatment processes in Germany. Hazards affecting water quality, continuity, and the reliability of supply from catchment to treatment and distribution could be identified by a systematic approach, and suitable control measures were defined. Experiences are presented by detailed examples covering methods, practical consequences, and further outcomes. The method and the benefits for the water suppliers are discussed and an outlook on the future role of WSPs in German water supply is given.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document