Mainstreaming Water Safety Plans in ADB Water Sector Projects: Lessons and Challenges

I. Why Water Safety Plans are Important for ADB Water Projects

Asia and the Pacific Region is rapidly developing but the region is challenged to manage increasing demand for safe drinking water amidst its fast economic growth and urbanization. By 2010, the world succeeded in meeting the target of Millennium Development Goal 7.C to halve the number of people without access to improved drinking water sources. And additional 2.3 billion more people gained access to improved drinking water sources with the largest gains in eastern, southeastern and south Asian regions between 1990 and 2012.¹ However, there is still a significant challenge remains on securing the quality of water throughout its supply system, from water sources to the consumer tap and point of use.

Access to unsafe drinking water entails large economic loss associated to public health. Improving water supply and sanitation, as well as water resource management, could prevent one-tenth of the global disease burden.² It is well-documented that overall health benefits gained by providing safe water to communities can be many times more than its costs of water safety measures.³ More importantly, waterborne diseases impact the poor the most by exacerbating malnutrition through chronic diarrhea, inhibiting children’s mental development, reducing school attendance, and impeding on the ability and availability of time for economic productivity and basic social functions. The need to purchase medicines to treat the disease also places additional financial burden on household budgets.

Water Safety Plans (WSPs) change the way water supply systems are managed. Traditional drinking water guidelines are reactive, based on infrequent testing that detects contamination only after exposure and fails to completely protect water consumers from harm. In contrast, the WSP, which adopts a preventive approach, tests on frequent—often continuous—process monitoring. Failures are detected early and predefined corrective actions are completed in response to process failures to protect consumers before they are exposed to contamination. Through the preventive approach, the WSP also enables the water service operator to look into the efficiency of its whole water supply system, leading to better overall management for water conservation and quality