scholarly journals Risk assessment of drinking water from public wells

2017 ◽  
Vol 70 (9-10) ◽  
pp. 297-306
Author(s):  
Sanja Bijelovic ◽  
Marija Jevtic ◽  
Natasa Dragic ◽  
Emil Zivadinovic ◽  
Danijela Lukic ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Human Health ◽  
National Standards ◽  
Management Approach ◽  
Water Safety ◽  
Drinking Water Safety ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Drinking Water Analysis ◽  
Hazard Rating

Introduction. The safety of drinking water should be considered in the context of managing the risk from hazards that may compromise it. The aim of this study was to identify microbiological, chemical and physical hazards of drinking water from public wells which may impact human health, and to evaluate the results of routine drinking water analysis, not taking into account the national legislation, but the risk management approach. Material and Methods. Drinking water was sampled from 20 public wells in South Backa District and analyzed at the Institute of Public Health of Vojvodina according to accredited national standards during 2016. The drinking water hazards were defined according to international recommendations. Risk assessment was done using a semiquantitative approach, which assesses the like?lihood and consequences of a hazard, rating the risks as low, medium, high and very high. Results. Of 218 drinking water samples, according to national regulations, only 10% were healthy for consumption. The recognized hazards were thermotolerant coliforms (especially Escherichia coli), enterococci (genus Streptococcus), Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus species and nitrates above legal limits. The risk was rated high, with an impact on the morbidity of sensitive populations in 2/3 of controlled public wells, in 1/3 as medium, leading to abandonment of drinking water sources. Conclusion. The proposed risk assessment methodology is a tool that provides easily understandable and clear information on the possibility of using public wells with a consequent impact on human health. The management of drinking water safety is the greatest challenge, systematically prioritizing risk assessment of drinking water from public wells for the health of the population in the Republic of Serbia.

scholarly journals Implementation and evaluation of the water safety plan approach for buildings

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 870-883 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabelle Schmidt ◽  
Bettina Rickert ◽  
Oliver Schmoll ◽  
Thomas Rapp
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Drinking Water Quality ◽  
World Health ◽  
Management Approach ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Water Safety ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Drinking Water Safety ◽  
Premise Plumbing

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.

Empowering rural communities: simple Water Safety Plans

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 309-317 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. J. Hasan ◽  
A. Hicking ◽  
J. David
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Hydrogen Sulfide ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Marshall Islands ◽  
Pacific Island ◽  
Water Safety ◽  
Safety Issues ◽  
Drinking Water Safety ◽  
Pacific Island Countries ◽  
The Republic

Every year 2800 deaths in Pacific island countries result from diarrhoea, and most are children under five years of age. These tragic diarrheal deaths are preventable as they are often linked to unsafe water, lack of proper sanitation facilities and poor hygienic practices. Effective preventive management through the framework of a drinking Water Safety Plan (WSP) is an efficient mechanism for ensuring the safe quality of drinking water thereby reducing the burden of water related diseases. The large proportion (81%) of people in Pacific island countries living in rural or outer island communities mostly have their own water supply (for example rainwater tanks or hand-dug wells), and often the water is consumed untreated. The remoteness and isolation of these rural communities prevent national surveillance authorities to regularly visit and provide advice on drinking water safety issues. In such circumstances empowering rural communities to ensure the safety of their drinking water, through trained local facilitators, could be promoted and utilised effectively. However, WSPs for rural communities have to be relatively simple hence tools such as modified sanitary inspections and the presence/absence hydrogen sulfide test could be used. The approach of empowering communities through trained local facilitators to promote the WSP framework has been implemented in the Republic of Marshall Islands (RMI). Positive feedback has been received by trained facilitators in RMI on the use of modified sanitary inspections (translated into Marshallese) and the hydrogen sulfide test. It is believed that the approach of empowering communities on WSPs through training local facilitators and equipping them with the above mentioned simple tools is effective and has potential for further replication in rural Pacific communities to improve drinking water quality and reduce the burden of water related diseases.

scholarly journals A conceptual framework to evaluate the outcomes and impacts of water safety plans

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 103-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard J. Gelting ◽  
Kristin Delea ◽  
Elizabeth Medlin
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Monitoring And Evaluation ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
World Health ◽  
Management Approach ◽  
Water Safety ◽  
Common Basis ◽  
Drinking Water Safety ◽  
Health Organization

A Water Safety Plan (WSP) is a preventive, risk management approach to ensure drinking water safety. The World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines place WSPs within a larger 'framework for safe drinking-water' that links WSPs to health, creating an implicit expectation that implementation of WSPs will safeguard health in areas with acceptable drinking water quality. However, many intervening factors can come between implementation of an individual WSP and ultimate health outcomes. Evaluating the impacts of a WSP, therefore, requires a much broader analysis than simply looking at health improvements. Until recently, little guidance for the monitoring and evaluation of WSPs existed. Drawing examples from existing WSPs in various regions, this paper outlines a conceptual framework for conducting an overall evaluation of the various outcomes and impacts of a WSP. This framework can provide a common basis for implementers to objectively monitor and evaluate the range of outcomes and impacts from WSPs, as well as a common understanding of the time frames within which those results may occur. As implementers understand the various outcomes and impacts of WSPs beyond health, a strong evidence base for the effectiveness of WSPs will develop, further enabling the scaling up of WSP implementation and provision of better quality water.

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.

scholarly journals Environmental and human health risk assessment of antibiotic residues in drinking water sources: case study of a fast-developing megacity in southern China

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 499-507 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiao Zhang ◽  
Sheng Yang ◽  
Bangmi Xie ◽  
Jian Zhang ◽  
Chen Deng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Health Risk ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Health Risk Assessment ◽  
Southern China ◽  
Human Health Risk ◽  
Scientific Basis ◽  
Water Safety ◽  
The Government

Abstract The occurrence, distribution, ecological and health risk assessment of five antibiotics (CFM, ERY, LCM, SMD and SMX) in 32 drinking water reservoirs of a megacity (Shenzhen) in Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), were investigated. Among the above antibiotics, CFM was not detected, ERY, SMD, LCM and SMX were detected in 65.6%, 46.9%, 43.7% and 40.6% of samples, with concentrations of 1.594–7.605 ng·L−1, 0.335–6.695 ng·L−1, 0.288–7.878 ng·L−1 and 0.770–5.355 ng·L−1, respectively. The maximum concentration of ERY was detected in GT Reservoir, and those of the other 3 antibiotics were detected in SZ Reservoir. The ecological risk quotient (RQ) values for SMX in SZ, XL, YT, EJ, SY, TG, XK, GK, MK and GT reservoirs ranged from 0.1 to 1.0, indicating a median risk to aquatic organisms, the others posed insignificant risk or low risk. Considering the joint effects of detected antibiotics, the highest overall RQ value was 0.38, obtained in SZ Reservoir, in other words, it was exposed to greater risk. Based on health risk assessment, the health RQ values for the detected antibiotics were significantly lower than 0.01, indicating insignificant risk to human health. These findings could provide a scientific basis for the government to ensure the drinking water safety of a megacity in GBA.

scholarly journals Disinfection Impacts to Drinking Water Safety—A Review

Proceedings ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (11) ◽  
pp. 603 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stavroula Tsitsifli ◽  
Vasilis Kanakoudis
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Early Warning ◽  
Early Warning System ◽  
Warning System ◽  
Water Safety ◽  
Basic Principles ◽  
Drinking Water Safety ◽  
Treatment Processes ◽  
Developmental Effects

Drinking water supply safety is of paramount importance for human health. Disinfection is considered as one of the most significant water treatment processes as it inactivates pathogens from drinking water. However, disinfection might have adverse effects in human health, as disinfection by-products, blamed for cancer and reproductive/developmental effects, are formed. Many predictive models and optimization tools are developed in the research. However, an early warning system integrating monitoring, modelling and optimization tools is lacking. The paper reviews the disinfection methods and the models developed so far and presents the basic principles for the development of an early warning system.

Toxicologic Risk Assessment Issues for Drinking Water Safety

1992 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 311-319
Author(s):  
Richard D. Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
National Research Council ◽  
Chemical Exposure ◽  
Epidemiologic Studies ◽  
Current View ◽  
Water Safety ◽  
Drinking Water Safety ◽  
Assessment Procedures ◽  
A Current

The intent of this presentation is to review the studies conducted by the National Research Council (NRC) where risk assessment was the central theme and to present both a current view and some ideas for the future of risk assessment procedures for drinking water. Although the principal interest is in the use of toxicologic data in assessing risk, nonetheless, mention is made of the use of epidemiologic studies and other types of research investigations that may produce useful information for estimating risk to humans from chemical exposure.

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