Gunnarsdottir, M.J., Gardarsson, S.M., Eriksson, M. et al. (12 more authors) (2023) Implementing risk-based approaches to improve drinking water quality in small water supplies in the Nordic region – barriers and solutions. Journal of Water and Health, 21 (12). pp. 1747-1760. ISSN 1477-8920
Abstract
Small water supplies face similar problems worldwide, regardless of ownership or management type. Non-compliance with water quality regulations is more frequent in small supplies than in large ones, as are waterborne disease outbreaks. The new European Union Drinking Water Directive requires risk-based approach (RBA) to secure water safety as is recommended in the World Health Organization's Guidelines for drinking water quality through ‘water safety plans’. This is already in regulation in the Nordic countries, although less used in small supplies. In this research, we explore the challenges, barriers and possible solutions to implementing RBA and improving compliance in small supplies. This was achieved by conducting and analysing interviews with 53 stakeholders from all eight Nordic countries to produce recommendations for action by the different implicated actors. Our findings suggest the centrality of governmental policy, including support for continuous training, provision of simple RBA guidelines and increasing cooperation in the water sector. The Nordic experience reflects global challenges with small water supplies and the trend towards systematic preventive management epitomized in the framework for drinking water safety advocated by the World Health Organization since 2004.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2023 The Authors. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence (CC BY 4.0), which permits copying, adaptation and redistribution, provided the original work is properly cited (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
Keywords: | drinking water safety, risk-based approach, small water supplies |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Civil Engineering (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 16 Jan 2024 16:25 |
Last Modified: | 16 Jan 2024 16:25 |
Published Version: | https://iwaponline.com/jwh/article/21/12/1747/9860... |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | IWA Publishing |
Identification Number: | 10.2166/wh.2023.088 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:207668 |