A strategic approach for Water Safety Plans implementation in Portugal

Effective risk assessment and risk management approaches in public drinking water systems can benefit from a systematic process for hazards identification and effective management control based on the Water Safety Plan (WSP) concept. Good results from WSP development and implementation in a small nu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of water and health 2011-03, Vol.9 (1), p.107-116
Main Author: Vieira, Jose M P
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Benchmarking
Drinking water
Environmental Monitoring - methods
Frameworks
Hazard identification
Knowledge acquisition
Knowledge management
Legislation
Monitoring
Policies
Policy Making
Portugal
Quality Control
Risk assessment
Risk Assessment - legislation & jurisprudence
Risk Assessment - methods
Risk management
Risk Management - legislation & jurisprudence
Risk Management - methods
Safety
Scaling
Self-assessment
System effectiveness
Water Supply - legislation & jurisprudence
Water Supply - standards
Water utilities
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Summary:Effective risk assessment and risk management approaches in public drinking water systems can benefit from a systematic process for hazards identification and effective management control based on the Water Safety Plan (WSP) concept. Good results from WSP development and implementation in a small number of Portuguese water utilities have shown that a more ambitious nationwide strategic approach to disseminate this methodology is needed. However, the establishment of strategic frameworks for systematic and organic scaling-up of WSP implementation at a national level requires major constraints to be overcome: lack of legislation and policies and the need for appropriate monitoring tools. This study presents a framework to inform future policy making by understanding the key constraints and needs related to institutional, organizational and research issues for WSP development and implementation in Portugal. This methodological contribution for WSP implementation can be replicated at a global scale. National health authorities and the Regulator may promote changes in legislation and policies. Independent global monitoring and benchmarking are adequate tools for measuring the progress over time and for comparing the performance of water utilities. Water utilities self-assessment must include performance improvement, operational monitoring and verification. Research and education and resources dissemination ensure knowledge acquisition and transfer.
ISSN:1477-8920
1996-7829
DOI:10.2166/wh.2010.150