Water Safety Plans at small-scale and community level Prof Richard Carter (WaterAid) and Dr Jen Smith (Cranfield University)

Overview The need for Water Safety Plans WHO / IWA WSP steps WSP in small-scale / community managed systems Liberia (no WSP) community handpump Nigeria (no WSP) urban dug wells Bangladesh findings from WSP pilot project WSP critique The future – ‘Water Security’ Plans?

The need for Water Safety Plans Unreliable and unavailable Results are too late Requires resources & expertise Health WASH related illnesses e.g. diarrhoea

WSP steps

WSP in context

Liberia – community handpumps Functioning water committee Active community health volunteers Best practice followed

Nigeria – urban self supply Variable well conditions 1 owner, many users Limited space (toilet & well) Poor health understanding Little governmental support Reactive culture

Bangladesh – WSP pilot study Improved microbial quality: –at tap –in home –Not 0 CFU/100ml Significant & consistent reductions in sanitary risks Simple monitoring tool (pictorial) On-going surveillance Further capacity building (local & regional) APSU, 2006

WSP for small self-supply and community- managed systems What do users care about in terms of water? Importance of external support Buy-in from all parties How do you regulate / monitor / verify? Template use – links with complacency? Success of localised revisions Culture – recording data / proactive approach

Beyond water safety plans (1) Water consumers want: –ready access –adequate quantity –adequate quality –acceptable reliability –at a price they can afford –without an unrealistic management burden

Beyond water safety plans (2) Why consumers want –ready access: convenience, time and energy saving –adequate quantity: for domestic and productive uses –adequate quality: for aesthetic reasons, health –acceptable reliability: convenience and time saving –at a price they can afford: poverty, valuation of water –without an unrealistic management burden: convenience

Outcomes and impacts of improved water supply Outcomes: Increased consumption of adequate quality water from a reliable, affordable and manageable system - in other words, functioning and utilisation (WHO MEP) of a sustainable service (WaterAid, Triple-S and others). Impacts: Time and energy saving leading to socio-economic impacts. Enhanced quantity and quality leading to (small) health impacts.

Beyond water safety plans (3) Not only water quality (safety) for health... but a fully functioning water supply service in order to achieve the wider outcomes and impacts which consumers want.... towards water security

Water security has environmental and management dimensions Environmental aspects: quality and quantity of water resources, pressures, trends Management aspects: financing and institutional arrangements to ensure functional sustainability

Towards ‘water security’ plans Combining the principles of integrated water resource management with the practicality of water safety plans + Practical + Simple + Risk-based + Achievable - Limited focus - High-level - Poorly defined - Hard to implement + Common sense + Integrated Moving towards a risk-based approach for ensuring sustainable water supply services