scholarly journals Assessment of effectiveness of water safety plans (WSP) on water quality in rural communities of Anambra State, south-eastern Nigeria

Author(s):  
Azubuike S. Ekwere ◽  
Oyonga A. Oyonga ◽  
Maingaila M. Banda

Abstract World Health Organization recommends the use of Water Safety Plans as a systematic approach to ensure safe drinking water supply through a comprehensive risk assessment and management. This research assesses the implementation of WSPs in Anambra State, Nigeria based on understanding the outcomes of the community's WSP implementation and provides recommendations to improve the WSP process. To meet these objectives, a mixed-methods protocol was used, including, household surveys on water management practices, water quality testing to determine water safety of households' transport, stored and source waters and qualitative data collection. An evaluation on the implementation of WSPs in two council's areas, relative to non-WSP implementing communities, the following activities was conducted: 120 household surveys; water sample testing at water sources; Focus Group Discussions with key informant, water facility staff. Results indicates: water sources in both councils are producing relatively clean water; water management practices at the source were relatively safe with minor risky practices in a few communities; households involved risky practices that led to contamination from transported through to stored water and water facility caretakers were aware of their responsibilities. Recontamination of the source water during transportation and storage remained the main difficulty in ensuring consumption of safe water.

Author(s):  
Karen Setty ◽  
Giuliana Ferrero

Water safety plans (WSPs) represent a holistic risk assessment and management approach covering all steps in the water supply process from the catchment to the consumer. Since 2004, the World Health Organization (WHO) has formally recommended WSPs as a public health intervention to consistently ensure the safety of drinking water. These risk management programs apply to all water supplies in all countries, including small community supplies and large urban systems in both developed and developing settings. As of 2017, more than 90 countries had adopted various permutations of WSPs at different scales, ranging from limited-scale voluntary pilot programs to nationwide implementation mandated by legislative requirements. Tools to support WSP implementation include primary and supplemental manuals in multiple languages, training resources, assessment tools, and some country-specific guidelines and case studies. Systems employing the WSP approach seek to incrementally improve water quality and security by reducing risks and increasing resilience over time. To maintain WSP effectiveness, water supply managers periodically update WSPs to integrate knowledge about prior, existing, and potential future risks. Effectively implemented WSPs may translate to positive health and other impacts. Impact evaluation has centered on a logic model developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as well as WHO-refined indicators that compare water system performance to pre-WSP baseline conditions. Potential benefits of WSPs include improved cost efficiency, water quality, water conservation, regulatory compliance, operational performance, and disease reduction. Available research shows outcomes vary depending on site-specific context, and challenges remain in using WSPs to achieve lasting improvements in water safety. Future directions for WSP development include strengthening and sustaining capacity-building to achieve consistent application and quality, refining evaluation indicators to better reveal linked outcomes (including economic impacts), and incorporating social equity and climate change readiness.


2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 35-51
Author(s):  
E.O. Okoh ◽  
C.A. Miner ◽  
G.N. Ode ◽  
A.I. Zoakah

Background: Understanding how drinking water is managed in rural households that lack access to improved water sources is necessary for designing effective strategies that can meet their drinking water requirements. This study aimed to assess the drinking water management practices of rural households in two selected communities of Plateau State.Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in Plateau State among 202 female caregivers of under-five children residing in households of two rural communities who were selected using a multistage sampling technique. An interviewer-administered  questionnaire and an observational checklist were used to obtain information on water sources, collection, storage and treatment  practices. Data were analyzed using SPSS 23.0. Bivariate analysis was done to identify factors associated with household water treatment practice followed by logistic regression to determine predictors. Level of significance was set at p<0.05.Results: Mean age of respondents was 32.5±12.3 years. Nearly half (48%) of the households obtained drinking water from unimproved sources and 18.3% treated water at home which were mainly inappropriate methods. About 75% always stored drinking water separately from other uses while 64% stored water for over 3days. Only 51% were observed to store water in clean containers. Independent  predictors of household water treatment were perception of drinking water safety (AOR=4.6; 95%CI: 2.1–10.3) and encouragement to treat water within the community (AOR=16.7; 95%CI: 2.1 – 28.5).Conclusion: There is a need to educate and encourage the rural populace on appropriate water management methods while efforts are being made to increase access to improved sources.


2003 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 215-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Howard

The development of water safety plans (WSPs) for small systems should be based on a thorough understanding of the relationships between risk factors and contamination events. This can be achieved through the use of well-designed assessments of water quality that provide better evidence to support the identification of control measures, performance limits, monitoring parameters and verification procedures. Training of community operators is critical to the success of the WSP and the understanding gained from the assessments provides a sound basis for addressing these needs. The WSP approach provides for more effective control of water quality and the use of targeted assessments is cost-effective in improving the design of WSPs.


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 1347-1353 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Kosaka ◽  
Y. Koike ◽  
Y. Miyabayashi ◽  
K. Saito ◽  
M. Asami ◽  
...  

Abstract An investigation of the utilization of water quality monitors at water purification plants throughout Japan was conducted via questionnaire from August to October 2015. The number of types of monitors installed at more than one water purification plant was 34. Chlorine, high sensitivity turbidity, pH, and turbidity monitors were (highly) recommended for installation in four water purification processes (rapid sand filtration, chlorination only, slow sand filtration and membrane treatment), except for high sensitivity turbidity of chlorination only. The number of installations of the monitors recommended and their installation points were dependent upon the processes. Highly recommended points of turbidity were raw water and sedimentation points, which were set for (critical) control points in water safety plans. That of high sensitivity turbidity was the rapid sand filtration point for confirmation of Cryptosporidium control. Chlorine monitors were applied for automatic control, regardless of the water purification processes. Some interesting monitors, such as those for musty odor compounds and trihalomethane, were newly developed and utilized. The results of this study showed that water quality monitors were important for water quality management systems based on water safety plans in Japan.


2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 870-883 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabelle Schmidt ◽  
Bettina Rickert ◽  
Oliver Schmoll ◽  
Thomas Rapp

Abstract The World Health Organization (WHO) promotes water safety plans (WSPs) – a risk-based management approach – for premise plumbing systems in buildings to prevent deterioration of drinking-water quality. Experience with the implementation of WSPs in buildings were gathered within a pilot project in Germany. The project included an evaluation of the feasibility and advantages of WSPs by all stakeholders who share responsibility in drinking-water safety. While the feasibility of the concept was demonstrated for all buildings, benefits reported by building operators varied. The more technical standards were complied with before implementing WSP, the less pronounced were the resulting improvements. In most cases, WSPs yielded an increased system knowledge and awareness for drinking-water quality issues. WSPs also led to improved operation of the premise plumbing system and provided benefits for surveillance authorities. A survey among the European Network of Drinking-Water Regulators on the existing legal framework regarding drinking-water safety in buildings exhibited that countries are aware of the need to manage risks in buildings' installations, but experience with WSP is rare. Based on the successful implementation and the positive effects of WSPs on drinking-water quality, we recommend the establishment of legal frameworks that require WSPs for priority buildings whilst accounting for differing conditions in buildings and countries.


Water Policy ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 565-596 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ty Bereskie ◽  
Ianis Delpla ◽  
Manuel J. Rodriguez ◽  
Rehan Sadiq

Abstract Drinking-water management systems (DWMSs) represent the primary means for preventative management of a drinking-water supply and are defined as a system of policies, procedures and administrative/behavioral controls designed to ensure safe drinking water from source to tap. With influence and inspiration ranging from safe food handling to industrial quality management, DWMSs can take, and have taken, many different forms throughout the world. This variability is especially true in Canada, a country with a decentralized governance structure, where provincial and territorial governments are mostly autonomous in regard to drinking-water governance and management. While this has resulted in comprehensive DWMSs in provinces such as Ontario, less-proactive provinces and territories have fallen behind and may be exposing consumers to under-protected and vulnerable drinking-water supplies. This paper includes a review and comparison of the existing Canadian national, provincial and territorial approaches to drinking-water management, the World Health Organization Water Safety Plan Recommendations, national DWMSs from Australia and New Zealand, and also includes widely applied, generic quality management systems. This information is then used to gauge the comprehensiveness of DWMSs in Canada and highlight potential management gaps and policy recommendations for the development of new, or improving existing, DWMSs.


2017 ◽  
Vol 220 (3) ◽  
pp. 513-530 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen E. Setty ◽  
Georgia L. Kayser ◽  
Michael Bowling ◽  
Jerome Enault ◽  
Jean-Francois Loret ◽  
...  

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