Oliver Schmoll, Ingrid Chorus Federal Environment Agency Bad Elster and Berlin, Germany

1. Water Safety Plan (WSP) Twinning Programme component 2.2 Oliver Schmoll, Ingrid Chorus Federal Environment Agency Bad Elster and Berlin, Germany Warsaw, March 2009

2. Framework for Safe Drinking-water Health-based targets(Regulatory body) Water Safety Plan(Water supplier) Independent surveillance(Surveillance agency or third party)

3. Rationality for WSP • Limitations of end-product testing: • Limited early warning capability of microbial testing • Water volumes tested are rarely statistically representative • Limited capability to detect short term fluctuations of water quality • Quality management procedures focusing on keeping processes under control have advantages: • Emphasis on prevention • Focus on process control • Designed to reduce, eliminate and prevent contamination

4. WSP in simple What are the hazards in my supply system? Continuous cycle How do I know that the hazards are fixed? How do I fix the hazards?

5. Prepare WSP PLANNED PERIODIC REVIEW Describe water supply system WSP DOCUMENTATION Control hazards Implement and manage control measures Define monitoring of control measures Prepare management procedures Verify and audit WSP WaterSafetyPlan Improvement and upgrade plan System assessment Identify hazards Prioritize risks Determine existing control measures Identify additional or improved control measures

6. Step 1 Prepare WSP PLANNED PERIODIC REVIEW Describe water supply system Improvement and upgrade plan WSP DOCUMENTATION System assessment Identify hazards Prioritize risks Determine existing control measures Identify additional or improved control measures Control hazards Implement and manage control measures Define monitoring of control measures Prepare management procedures Verify and audit WSP

7. Management commitment • Clear signal from senior management is imperative for successful WSP development: • To secure manpower and financial resources • To obtain support for changes in working practices • To get commitment from all management levels • To increase acceptance of operational staff • Management needs to actively promote water safety as a goal of the water supplier

8. The WSP team • Interdisciplinary team with collective responsibility for planning, development and implementation of the WSP • Qualifications of team members: • Engineers (operations, maintenance, design) • Water quality control staff (microbiologists and chemists) • Technical staff involved in day to day operations • Health scientists • Team leader for pushing and steering the project

9. WSP teamExternal support • WSP is feasible without heavy external input • Water supplier should take the lead in WSP development and implementation: • Relocation of responsibility to consultants is not intended • External specialised competence can be sought, if necessary

10. Step 2 Prepare WSP PLANNED PERIODIC REVIEW Describe water supply system Improvement and upgrade plan WSP DOCUMENTATION System assessment Identify hazards Prioritize risks Determine existing control measures Identify additional or improved control measures Control hazards Implement and manage control measures Define monitoring of control measures Prepare management procedures Verify and audit WSP

11. Document and describe the system • Comprehensive description of the water supply chain from catchment to consumer: • Describe all processes which may influence water quality • Compile information concerning individual supply steps: Source water and catchment, treatment processes applied, storage within the distribution system, distribution system • Define areas of primary responsibility • Identify areas beyond the suppliers responsibility • Summarise regulatory requirements

12. Document and describe the system • Construct conceptual flow diagram to improve understanding and system overview • WSP team must validate completeness and accuracy of flow diagram “out of the office”

13. Layout planExample Community Layout plan 1:10,000

14. Hydraulic scheme Example

15. Catchment mapExample Hazard Description ofhazards

16. Step 3 Prepare WSP PLANNED PERIODIC REVIEW Describe water supply system Improvement and upgrade plan WSP DOCUMENTATION System assessment Identify hazards Prioritize risks Determine existing control measures Identify additional or improved control measures Control hazards Implement and manage control measures Define monitoring of control measures Prepare management procedures Verify and audit WSP

17. System assessment Identify hazards Prioritize risks Determine existing control measures Identify additional or improved control measures

18. What is a hazard? • “Hazard“: • Any biological, chemical, physical or radiological agent that has the potential to cause harm to public health • Hazards may be present or may originate throughout the water supply chain from catchment to consumer • Pathogens: • Bacteria, viruses and protozoa from human or animal faeces • Chemicals: • From geological formations (e.g. fluoride, arsenic) • From man-made activities (e.g. nitrate, pesticides) • From distribution system materials (e.g. lead, copper)

19. What is a hazardous event? • “Hazardous event”: • An event that introduces hazards to, or fails to remove them from, the water supply • Examples for hazardous events: • Heavy rainfalls which cause runoff of pathogens into water • Disturbance or breakdown of a treatment step • Burst of a transmission pipeline • Example for hazardous condition: • Prolonged use of mineral fertilizers in agriculture which is not adapted to the hydrogeological environment • Poorly protected well-head

20. Chemical hazards • Any agent with negative impact on water quality: • From geological formations (e.g. fluoride, arsenic) • From human activities (e.g. nitrate, pesticides) • From treatment (e.g. flocculants, disinfection by-products, impurities in treatment chemicals) • From distribution system materials (e.g. lead, copper) Biological hazards • Pathogens: bacteria, viruses and protozoa • Main source: Human or animal faeces • Non-pathogenic organisms: • Relevant to acceptability of drinking-water as the consumer may reject water and use potential unsafe sources • Toxic cyanobacteria

21. Hazard identification • For each step of the flow diagram: • Systematically identify hazards and corresponding events • “What could go wrong and where?” • Understand the relationship between the source of a hazard, its pathway thru the environment and its occurrence in water • System tailored assessment

22. Hazard identificationStarting points • Hazard analysis should be based on existing experience and knowledge from within the supply: • Be pragmatic! • Interview of staff in on-site operations • Systematically analyze previous incidents or failures • Supported by sanitary inspections

23. Generic checklistsCatchment • Rapid variations in raw water quality • Sewage and septic system discharges • Land use (e.g. animal husbandry, agriculture, forestry, industrial area or discharge, waste disposal, mining) • Chemical use in catchment areas • Major spills (both accidental and deliberate) • Human access (e.g. recreational activity) • Wildlife and livestock

24. Generic checklists Offtake and Distribution system • Inadequate wellhead structure / condition • Unsuitable well or intake location • Low internal pipe pressure or “pressure waves” leading to ingress/infiltration of contaminated material • Backflows drawing in contaminated water • Pipe bursts leading to the ingress during repair, replacement or installation of mains • Open/insecure water storage reservoirs/aqueducts resulting in faecal contamination

25. System assessment Identify hazards Prioritize risks Determine existing control measures Identify additional or improved control measures

26. Determine existing control measures • Control measures are “barriers to contamination” • Control measures may include: • Preventing contaminants (hazards) gaining access to water • Removing hazards from the water • Inactivating pathogens in the water • Maintaining the quality of the water during distribution by choosing adequate materials for piping and maintaining pressure

27. Determine existing control measuresDescription /1 • Control measures are “barriers to contamination” • Control measures are activities and processes applied to • Prevent hazard occurrence • Directly improve / maintain drinking-water quality • Collectively ensure that water consistently meets health-based targets • collectively form the “multiple-barrier principle”

28. Determine existing control measures Description /2 • Control measures may include: • Preventing contaminants (hazards) gaining access to water • Removing hazards from the water • Inactivating pathogens in the water • Maintaining the quality of the water during distribution • Various natures of control measures: • Catchment: wide range of planning activities to protect raw water quality (preventative nature) • Treatment, storage and distribution: focus on design, construction, operation and maintenance (technical nature)

29. Determine existing control measures – examples:

30. System assessment Identify hazards Prioritize risks Determine existing control measures Identify additional or improved control measures

31. Risk prioritizationWhy? • Decide whether any event present a significant risk • Identify hazards or events that need most urgent action • Methods available: • Simple team decision • Quantitative or semi-quantitative approach

32. Risk prioritizationSimple team decision • Informed team judgment to rule events in or out • Assess all events identified at each step in the process • Determine whether they are under control • Document whether those events need urgent attention Significant Clearly a priority The risk should be considered further by the team to define whether additional control measures are required and whether a particular process step should be elevated to a key control point in the system. Uncertain Unsure if event is or The risk may require further studies to understand if the event really is a is not a significant risk significant risk or not. . Insignificant Clearly not a priority Note that the risk will be described and documented as part of a transparent and diligent process and will be revisited in future years as part of the WSP rolling review

33. Risk prioritizationExample: output

34. Risk prioritizationSemi-quantitative risk matrixes • Risk is calculated by multiplying ‘Likelihood’ by ‘Severity’ • Likelihood or frequency: • How often or likely will a hazardous event occur? • Severity or consequence: • What will be the consequences for public health or the consumer acceptance?

35. Risk prioritizationExample from Jordan For translation into Polish only – please delete ths box afterwards: L=low; M=medium; H= high

36. Risk prioritizationExample from Jordan

37. Risk prioritization Example: output

38. Risk prioritizationSemi-quantitative risk matrices • Each identified hazardous event will receive a value • Events can be compared and be classified (prioritized) • Basis for a relative assessment of single risks within one supply utility

39. Risk prioritizationDirect your thinking before start • Be specific about what the risk is in terms of: • Risk of a specific event • Leading to a specific hazard • Reaching a specific and problematic concentration • At a specific point in time and space

40. Risk prioritizationResults • Which hazards (and hazardous events) are covered by sufficient control measures? • Which control measures are most important? • Which hazards require further measures to control the hazard adequately? • Is there insufficient knowledge about hazards and/or control measures (knowledge and research demands)?

41. System assessment Identify hazards Prioritize risks Determine existing control measures Identify additional or improved control measures

42. Additional/improved control measures • Significant risks identified require further investigation: • Additional control measures need to be identified • Existing measures may need to be modified or improved • Interim solutions may be necessary

43. Action plan

44. Step 4 Prepare WSP PLANNED PERIODIC REVIEW Describe water supply system Improvement and upgrade plan WSP DOCUMENTATION System assessment Identify hazards Prioritize risks Determine existing control measures Identify additional or improved control measures Control hazards Implement and manage control measures Define monitoring of control measures Prepare management procedures Verify and audit WSP

45. Control hazards Implement and manage control measures Define monitoring of control measures

46. Implement control measures Combination of control measures • Type and number of control measures will vary for each system • For each hazardous event identified as a significant risk, efficient control measures need to be implemented • Each control measure needs to be described in a sufficiently precise and comprehensible manner • Standard operating procedures support the effective realization of individual measures

47. Determine existing control measures Example of an instruction

48. Control hazards Implement and manage control measures Define monitoring of control measures

49. Establish operational monitoring • Operational monitoring assesses the performance of control measures at appropriate time intervals • Monitoring Plan: • What will be monitored? • How it will be monitored? • Where it will be monitored? • When it will be monitored? • Who will do the monitoring?

50. Establish operational monitoring • Monitoring intervals need to be defined individually for each control measure • Intervals may vary widely, e.g.: • On-line control of residual chlorine • Quarterly inspection of the integrity of the plinth surrounding a well