Water Safety Planning for Urban Water Utilities: a practical Guide for adb staff

PART 1
OVERVIEW OF CONCEPTS 
AND PRINCIPLES

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WATER SAFETY PLANNING FOR URBAN WATER UTILITIES—PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR ADB STAFF
B. WATER SAFETY PLANS
The WHO structures the WSP as a series of steps (Figure 1). Chapter 4 of the GDWQ
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describes WSPs 
in more detail, and the WSP Manual provides step-by-step guidance for developing and implementing 
WSPs.
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The WSP is an example of a preventive drinking-water quality management system approach 
for reliably achieving objectives relating to water quality and public health. The WSP has direct 
management system parallels that will be familiar to many practitioners, including
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quality management (ISO 9000);
•
food safety management (food safety plans, Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) 
plans, ISO 22000);
•
asset management (ISO 55000);
•
risk management (ISO 31000); and
•
environmental management (ISO 14000).
Since the beginning of the 2000s, jurisdictions globally have been increasingly adopting formal WSP 
approaches to drinking-water safety and quality management. The WSP approach is now the accepted 
global norm in good drinking-water quality management. 
Note that the term “Water Safety Plan” is not used in all jurisdictions, and that other terms used include 
the following and their variations:
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Risk Management Plan
•
Public Health Risk Management Plan
•
Quality Assurance Program
•
Drinking Water Management Plan
•
Drinking Water Quality Management Plan
•
Drinking Water Safety Plan
•
HACCP Plan
In this Handbook, the term “Water Safety Plan” (WSP) will be used to refer to all of those approaches.
C. RELEVANCE TO ADB LOAN PROCESSING
Some of the WSP principles are relevant to design and construction as well as to initial operation of 
water infrastructure. If a system is designed poorly, it will be very difficult to provide safe water in the 
long term. Therefore, where necessary, relevant aspects of the WSP approach may be captured within 
ADB processing activities to promote their long-term adoption by the water supplier. 
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WHO. 2011. Chapter 4: Water safety plans. In Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality. 4th ed. Geneva.
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Bartram J. et al. 2009. Water Safety Plan Manual, Step-by-step risk management for drinking-water suppliers. Geneva, Switzerland: 
WHO. 

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INTRODUCTION 
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WSPs continue to be relevant beyond the period of ADB financing and involvement. A WSP is intended 
to exist as an operational document and a living drinking-water quality risk management system that 
is owned, maintained, and implemented by drinking-water suppliers.
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WSPs can also assist in guiding 
design, construction, and education. ADB works in partnership with stakeholders and is not directly 
responsible for operating water supply infrastructure. Some discretion is required when applying WSP 
principles in ADB projects to ensure that aspects relevant to ADB’s role are appropriately allocated.
D. MAINSTREAMING WATER SAFETY PLANS 
INTO ADB OPERATIONS
It is important to adopt an efficient approach in meeting the principles and intent of the WSP. To a 
large extent, ADB projects already inherently incorporate the WSP principles by considering the client 
government’s local standards and existing good practices. Thus, it is most efficient to avoid replication 
of activities by starting with a gap analysis that maps and compares the existing project processes with 
the WSP principles. In addition to avoiding replication of activities, the gap analysis highlights the risk of 
undesirable impacts on drinking-water customers and the reputational or liability risks to ADB or client 
governments.
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The supplier may be a water utility, cooperative, community water supply entity, or local caretaker.

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