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Water and Sanitation Safety Planning

Oliver Schmoll


Tibilisi, 28 May 2013

“One in hundred years”

• National public health strategies to highlight value of safe drinking- water as basis for primary prevention

• Policy frameworks to integrate management of water- and sanitation related health risks

• Strengthen implementation of water safety plans and contribute to the development of sanitation safety plans



Protocol requirements

• Article 4 (2a): Parties shall ensure “adequate supplies of wholesome drinking water which is free from any micro-organisms, parasites and substances which (...) constitute a potential danger to human health.”

• Article 6 (2): Parties shall establish “national and/or local targets (...) that need to be achieved or maintained for a high level of protection against water-related disease (...). Targets shall cover, inter alia, (a) the quality of the drinking water supplied, taking into account the Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality of the WHO.”



The Guidelines for Drinking-Water Quality



WHO Guidelines: benchmark for “safety”

• 4th edition published in 2011 (since 1958)

• International point of reference for drinking-water regulation

• Advisory in nature

• Need for adaptation to national priorities

• Principal of incremental improvement



Established approaches

• Strict focus on public health protection • Rigorous assessment of biological, chemical, physical

and radiological agents

• Health-based guideline values for more than 100 chemicals

• Good practices in provision of safe drinking-water



What does “safe” mean?

• Move away from over-reliance on end-product testing: – “Too little to late” – Outbreaks in absence of faecal indicators – No early warning capability – No capability to detect short term fluctuations

• Need for holistic and proactive approach: – Emphasis on prevention – Focus on process control



Framework for Safe Drinking-water

Health-based targets (National regulatory body)

Independent surveillance (Surveillance agency)

Water Safety Plan (Water supplier)



Health-based targets

• Targets based on public health protection and disease prevention

• Quantitative benchmark for water suppliers

• Different types for different situations and purposes: – Water quality – Specified technology – Specified performance – Health outcome






Water Safety Plans (WSP)

“The most effective means of consistently

ensuring the safety of a drinking-water

supply is through the use of a

comprehensive risk assessment and risk

management approach that encompasses

all steps in water supply from catchment to

consumer. In these Guidelines, such

approaches are called water safety plans.”






Independent surveillance

• Systematic surveillance for verifying the WSP is operating properly

• Final check of end product quality

• Audit of WSP






Water Safety Plan in a nutshell



WSP is a piece of thinking!

What are the risks to my supply system?

How do I fix them?

How do I know that the they are fixed?

How important are they?

Ongoing and iterative cycle



Water Safety Plan steps’ overview

Map supply system

Review adequacy of preventive

control measures

Prioritize and implement improvements

Identify hazards and assess risks

Review WSP

WSP cycle



Map and describe the supply

Source: Esther Melhorn



Step back and analyse

• Systematic hazard analysis: What can go wrong where? – Identify “hazards” as agents that cause harm to public health – Identify “hazardous events” that introduce hazards or

fail to remove them – For all steps in the drinking-water supply chain

• Rigorous risk assessment: How important are events and hazards? – Points to areas where management attention is needed – Informs improvement and investments needs



Visit system, meet on-site staff & inspect

Photo: Bettina Rickert



Identify risks

Photo: Bettina Rickert Photo: Bettina Rickert Photo: Oliver Schmoll

Photo: Oliver Schmoll Photo: Oliver Schmoll Photo: Oliver Schmoll



Risk characterisation Severity

Catastrophic (Score: 16)

Major (Score: 8)

Moderate (Score: 4)

Minor (Score: 2)

Insignificant (Score: 1)

RISK MATRIX

80 40 20 10 5 Almost certain (Score: 5)

64 32 16 8 4 Likely (Score: 4)

48 24 12 6 3 Foreseeable (Score: 3)

32 16 8 4 2 Unlikely (Score: 2)

16 8 4 2 1 Most unlikely (Score: 1)

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System analysis What can go wrong? List what hazardous events could happen that may introduce hazards to your

system and may make your drinking-water unsafe.

If the event happens, what hazard(s) may make the water unsafe?

M = Microorganisms C = Chemicals P = Physical constituents Q = Loss of quantity

Is this event under control?

List all preventive barrier measures that are currently in place. Such measures may be anything that is a barrier to contamination. “Control” should not be mistaken with testing of drinking water quality.

How important is this event?

Describe how often the event can happen in your supply, and how severe the consequences would be for the health of the community. Judge to what extent this needs attention and improvement. Very important - Requires urgent attention & action Important: Requires attention & action may be taken Less important: No action required at this time



Improvement and upgrade planning

What needs further attention? List the hazardous events for which you identified further attention.

What improvements and upgrades are required?

Improvement and upgrade can aim to remove, reduce or remedy the problem.

How can it be done? For major improvements for which resources may only be available in the long term, also list interims solutions.

Who will do it? //

When will it be completed? //

Resources needed to do it? The term “resources” refers to personnel, technical and financial means.



Step-wise improvement planning

• Quick one-off fixes • Short-term operational improvements:

– Adaption of operational monitoring, inspection and maintenance procedures

• Long-term strategic improvements: – Planning in multi-stakeholder catchments – Treatment upgrades – Infrastructure investments – Donor/bank interest



Monitoring and inspection



Local team building and community participation

Photo: Bettina Rickert Photo: Oliver Schmoll

Photo: Tahmina Alimamedova Photo: Tahmina Alimamedova



Supporting tools

http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2012/9789241548427_rus.pdf http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2009/9789244562635_rus.pdf



Supporting tools



Added value reported



Added value reported /1

• More clarity on supply related risks • Reduction of incidents • Increased compliance

• Evidence on health gains: – Problem of time scales – Significant decrease in diarrhea incidence – Population under WSP is 14 % less likely

to develop clinical cases of diarrhea

• Stimulation of multi-stakeholder cooperation and communication



Added value reported /2

• Documents due diligence: overcoming complacency through “fresh look”

• Systematizes and improves operations

• Provides ratio for decision making: helps to focus limited resources and attention

• Stimulates incremental improvement planning • Often introduces a positive “change in culture”



Steps towards WSP implementation



Policy roadmap guidance

http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/thinkbig_small.pdf



Role of pilots

• ‘Nucleus’ of national implementation strategies: – Demystify WSP – Gain first hand experience and success stories – Generates ownership – Develop national WSP capacities

• Basis for evaluation and information of policy makers: – Added value – Feasibility and applicability – Estimating resource and capacity building requirements for

scaling-up



National advocacy and dialogue

• Establish institutional “champion” • Sensitize key stakeholders and institutions and seek

buy-in for long-term implementation strategies

• Involve “usual” and “unusual suspects”: – Government and regulators – Surveillance authorities – Municipality and town associations – NGOs – Professional associations



Capacity building alliances

• Training and education: – Involvement of learning institutions and training providers – Certified training programmes – Further professional education programmes – Integration into university curricula

• Develop national guidance materials • Build resource centers as hubs for technical advice • Establish partnership and peer-to-peer arrangements • Networks for sharing knowledge and experience



And sanitation safety planning?

Source: Thor-Axel Stenstrom, 2013



And sanitation safety planning?

• The more piped supplies in premises, the more wastewater produced

• Sanitation safety: – Safe disposal – Safe use – Safe conditions

• “Sanitation Safety Plans (SSP)” still in conceptual development phase

• Piloting planned



Conclusion

• WSP is benchmark for safe water (and SSP for sanitation)

• Increasing policy recognition and uptake

• Complementary requirement to “hardware” (infrastructure) investments



Protocol links

• Area for national target setting • Current work program 2011-13:

– WSP capacity building and pilot projects – Provision of WSP guidance in Russian

• Forthcoming work program 2014-16: “Safe and efficient management of water supply and sanitation systems”: – Capacity building at national/regional level – Strengthening of national legislation – Particular consideration to small supplies, hospitals and schools – Water Operator Partnerships



Thank you

Source: Rod Shaw

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