Summary

In this Study Session, you have learned that:

• Water Safety Plans are a means of preventing and managing threats to the production and delivery of safe water; they consider the water catchment, the water treatment process, and the distribution, storage and handling of water.
• Water Safety Plans cover wider issues such as safety from flood damage, the sufficiency of the water source, the availability of power supplies, the availability of trained staff and the reliability of communication systems.
• There are ten steps in a Water Safety Plan:
  • Assemble a team of experts.
  • Describe the water supply system.
  • Identify the hazards and hazardous events.
  • Carry out a risk assessment and prioritise the risks.
  • Identify the control measures needed for each risk.
  • Define the monitoring system for each control measure.
  • Prepare management procedures.
  • Prepare the verification programme.
  • Develop supporting programmes.
  • Document all of the above.
• The support of senior management is crucial because changes in working practices may be necessary, and the acquisition of control measures for risks will need finance.
• A Water Safety Plan at the community level was successfully implemented in Hintalo Wejerat Woreda in Tigray Region.