The quality of drinking-water

The quality of drinking-water

The quality of drinking-water is a powerful environmental determinant of health. Assurance of drinking-water safety is a foundation for the prevention and control of waterborne diseases.

    *   WHO Guidelines for drinking-water quality

    * Household water treatment and safe storage

    * Small community water supply management

    * Water Safety Plans (WSPs)

    * International Network of Drinking-Water Regulators

    * WHO technical notes on drinking-water, sanitation and hygiene in emergencies.

WHO Guidelines for drinking-water quality

WHO produces international norms on water quality and human health in the form of guidelines that are used as the basis for regulation and standard setting, in developing and developed countries world-wide.

Plan of work for the rolling revision of the WHO Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality

The WHO Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality are kept up-to-date by a "rolling revision". The present plan of work involves development of addenda to be published in 2005 and 2007 and a fourth edition scheduled for 2008. It also includes development and publication of documents on guidelines derivation and describing the state of knowledge on good practice in drinking-water safety.

2.Household water treatment and safe storage

A major burden

Every year there are 2 million diarrhoeal deaths related to unsafe water, sanitation, and hygiene—the vast majority among children under 5. More than one billion people lack access to an improved water source.

Our insight

Household water treatment and safe storage (HWTS) interventions can lead to dramatic improvements in drinking water quality and reductions in diarrhoeal disease—making an immediate difference to the lives of those who rely on water from polluted rivers, lakes and, in some cases, unsafe wells or piped water supplies.

3.Small community water supply management

 

Community water supplies in both developing and developed countries are more frequently associated with outbreaks of waterborne disease than urban supplies. Investing in these supplies will reduce waterborne disease outbreaks and overall costs.

Guidelines were first provided in 1963 in Water Supply for Rural Areas and Small Communities. Its most recent guidance is Volume 3 of the WHO Guidelines on Drinking Water Quality (3rd edition), Surveillance and Control of Community Supplies.

Five out of the six people without access to an improved water source live in rural areas. Today's national and international policy frameworks recognize that further attention to this topic is needed in order to meet the water target of the Millennium Development Goals (7c).

The International Small Community Water Supply Network was formed to promote the achievement of substantive and sustainable improvements to the safety of small community water supplies, particularly in rural areas, as a contribution to the Millennium Development targets related to water and sanitation. Network members work together to identify common management and technical issues and problems in relation to community supplies, and find workable solutions in geographic and cultural context.

4.Water Safety Plans (WSPs)

The WHO Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality recommend WSPs as the most effective means of consistently ensuring the safety of a drinking-water supply. WSPs require a risk assessment encompassing all steps in water supply from catchment to consumer, followed by implementation and monitoring of risk management control measures. WSPs should be implemented within a public health context, responding to clear health-based targets and quality-checked through independent surveillance.

5.International Network of Drinking-Water Regulators

The International Network of Drinking-Water Regulators (RegNet) was established in 2008 in response to requests from Member States to better address regulatory issues in relation to drinking-water. RegNet is an international forum to share and discuss strategies to address all aspects of protection of public health as it relates to drinking-water. RegNet aims to promote good practice to regulate a variety of water quality and water management issues.

Network Mission: To protect public health, as it relates to drinking-water, through the promotion of excellence and the continual improvement of regulatory frameworks and systems.

    * Information on RegNet membership conditions and arrangements

Since 2008, annual meetings of the International Network of Drinking-Water Regulators have reviewed progress in its programme of work, reported on new developments and Evaluated network products.

WHO technical notes on drinking-water, sanitation and hygiene in emergencies

2011. World Health Organization / Water Engineering Development Centre

These four-page illustrated notes have been prepared to assist those working immediately or shortly after an emergency to plan appropriate responses to the urgent and medium-term water and sanitation needs of affected populations.

The notes are relevant to a wide range or emergency situations, including both natural and conflict-induced disasters. They are suitable for field technicians, engineers and hygiene promotors, as well as staff from agency headquarters.

    *  1. Cleaning and disinfecting wells

    * 2. Cleaning and disinfecting boreholes

    * 3. Cleaning and disinfecting water storage tanks and tankers

    * 4. Rehabilitating small-scale piped water distribution systems

    * 5. Emergency treatment of drinking-water at the point of use

          * 6. Rehabilitating water treatment works after an emergency

          * 7. Solid waste management in emergencies

    * 8. Disposal of dead bodies in emergency conditions

    * 9. How much water is needed in emergencies

    * 10. Hygiene promotion in emergencies

    * 11. Measuring chlorine levels in water supplies

    * 12. Delivering safe water by tanker

          * 13. Planning for excreta disposal in emergencies

    * 14. Technical options for excreta disposal in emergencies

    * 15. Cleaning wells after seawater flooding.
 

Yours truly,
The Revitalization of Governance Forum
India.