Water safety plan enhancements with improved drinking water quality detection techniques

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Public Health
• Water Management

Background:

• Drinking water quality in Europe is governed by the 98/83/EC directive, currently under revision to align with the human right to safe water.
• A key revision involves implementing a risk-based approach for all regulated water supplies.
• The Aquavalens project developed and tested new pathogen detection technologies across seven European countries.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of new detection technologies on water safety and management.
• To assess risk factors and Water Safety Plan implementation in European water supplies.
• To identify challenges in ensuring safe drinking water quality.

Main Methods:

• Data collection via questionnaires and Sanitary Site Inspections for risk factors and Water Safety Plan status.
• Sampling across all water production and delivery stages in five large and fifteen small water supplies.
• Testing of new detection technologies for pathogens and indicators in collected water samples.

Main Results:

• Pathogens were detected in approximately 23% of 470 tested samples.
• High levels of fecal contamination were observed in raw and treated water, particularly in small supplies.
• Aging infrastructure was identified as a common challenge across all studied water supplies.

Conclusions:

• New detection techniques offer significant early warning potential for waterborne pathogens and fecal pollution.
• Implementation of these technologies can enhance consumer water safety and validate mitigation strategies.
• These methods can confirm water quality from source to tap, improving overall water safety management.