THE FEDERAL DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF ETHIOPIA

MINISTRY OF WATER, IRRIGATION AND ELECTRICITY

Rural Water Supply Operation and

Maintenance Manual

Module - G
A Trainer’s Manual for Rural Water Safety Plan

DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
P.O.BOX 20023 CODE 1000
ADDIS ABABA ETHIOPIA
TEL: +251-(0)118-60 80 12/0911-158613
E-mail: d.consultancy02@gmail.com
Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module – G for
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

RURAL WATER SUPPLY POINT SOURCES

MODULES MANAUL

MODULE – A FACILITATOR’S GUIDELINE

DESCRIPTION OF POINT WATER SOURCES AND

MODULE – B
TECHNOLOGIES
TECHNICAL OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE
MODULE – C
REQUIRMENTS FOR POINT WATER SOURCES
COMMUNITY BASED SCHEME AND FINANCIAL
MODULE – D
MANAGEMENT

MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF RURAL

MODULE – F
WATER SUPPLY SCHEME

WATER SAFETY PLAN FOR RURAL WATER

MODULE – G
SUPPLY

PREPARATION OF ACTION PLAN AND

MODULE – H
IMPLEMENTATION OF O&M

DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
i
Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module – G for
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

Definitions:
A hazard It is a biological, chemical or physical agent that has the potential to cause harm.

A hazardous It is an event or situation that can introduce a hazard to the water supply system.
event

A sanitary is an on-site inspection of water supply to identify actual and potential sources of
survey hazards such as physical structure, operation of the system, and external
environmental factors, are being evaluated and select appropriate remedial actions
to improve or protect the water supply

Climate is an approach which based on assessment of climate risks to the water supply
resilient water systems and management through identification of activities to better understand
safety plans climate risks, plan to address climate impacts and implement adaptation measures
to reduce the consequences of climate change to the water supply system from
catchment to the point of consumption taking in to account service level including
quantity, quality, reliability, cost and accessibility.

Climate Climate is average weather and occurs over long time frames (e.g. 30 years)

Control are activities or processes to prevent or reduce a hazardous event/hazard. The

measures WSPs process involves consideration of both existing control measures and
new/proposed control measure (or improvements).

Critical limit is cutoff point that signifies when a control measure has failed or is working
ineffectively and therefore emergency action is required

Operational Routine monitoring of control measures along the water supply chain to confirm
monitoring ongoing effectiveness. Carried out by the water supplier and involves defining
critical limits for relevant parameters and corrective actions to take when critical
limits are breached.

Risk is the likelihood that a hazardous event/hazard will occur combined with the
severity of the consequences.

Validation refers to reviewing evidence to determine whether or not the existing control
measures can effectively control the hazardous event/hazard. This must be done
prior to risk assessment so that the risk assessment considers how well controlled
the hazardous event/hazard is currently.

Verification Monitoring to confirm the effectiveness of the WSPs as a whole and involving three
elements: 1) compliance monitoring (generally by health authorities to confirm final
water compliance with drinking water quality standards); 2) consumer satisfaction
monitoring; and 3) internal/external WSPs auditing.

Water safety A comprehensive risk assessment and risk management approach that
plan (WSPs) encompasses all steps in the water supply, from catchment to consumer

Weather is what is happening in the atmosphere at any given time is considered “weather”
(including e.g. wind speed and direction, precipitation, barometric pressure,
temperature, and relative humidity)

DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
ii
Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module – G for
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

MODULE - G: RURAL WATER SAFETY PLAN

Table of Contents
List of Tables iii
List of Figures iv
List of Annexes iv
1. MODULE – G: WATER SAFTY PLAN 1
1.1 Session Outline 1
1.2 Manual to be referred 1
1.3 Session – G1: Introduction to Water Safety Plan 2
1.3.1. Introduction 2
1.3.2. Objective 2
1.3.3. Step 1: Background 2
1.3.4. Purpose of WSP 4
1.3.5. Why should WSPs be applied to community water supplies? 4
1.3.6. How can a WSP be developed and implemented in a community
water supply? 5
1.4 Session – G2: Task – 1: Engage the Community and Assemble a WSP
team 11
1.5 Session – G3: Task - 2 Describe the Community Water Supply 15
1.6 Session – G4: Identifying Hazard, Hazardous Event, Risks and Existing
Control Measures 20
1.7 Session – G5: Task – 4: Develop and Implement an Incremental
Improvement Plan 30
1.8 Session – G6: Monitor Control Measures and Verify the Effectiveness of
the WSP 33
1.9 Session – G7: Task – 6: Document, Review and Improve Aspects of WSP
Implementation 39
Annexes 45

List of Tables
Table 1-1: Summary of tasks involved in developing and implementing a WSP for
community-managed supplies 6
Table 1-2: Examples of factors to be considered when describing the major
components of Rural piped water supply system 18
Table 1-3: Sign of chronic health based issued caused by contaminated water
supply 21
Table 1-4: Examples of hazards and hazardous events organized by different
components of a drinking-water supply 24
Table 1-6: Example likelihood and severity definitions for the risk ranking approach
27

DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
iii
Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module – G for
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

Table 1-7: Example risk matrix for the risk ranking approach 27
Table 1-8: Example risk ranking definitions to prioritize actions 28
Table 1-5: Example definitions of descriptors for use in descriptive risk assessment
26
Table 1-9: Example control measures organized by different components of water supply
31
Table 1-10: Example of an improvement plan 32
Table 1-11: Example of an operational monitoring programme 35
Table 1-12: Examples of management procedures to be documented for a
community water supply system 40

List of Figures
Figure 1-1: Example of drawing a map 16

List of Annexes
Annex A: Example of risk assessment and prioritization using the risk ranking approach
45
Annex B: Example of Control Measures 47
Annex C: Checklist for conducting a WSP 50
Annex D: Risk Assessment Form 51

DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
iv
Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module – G for
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

1. MODULE – G: WATER SAFTY PLAN

1.1 Session Outline
This Training manual comprise of:

Session – G1: Introduction to WSP

Session – G2: Assemble a team

Session – G3: Describe the Water Supply System

Session – G4: Identify the hazards and assess the risks

Session – G5: Determine and Validate the Control Measures

Session – G6: Define Monitoring of Control Measures

Session – G7: Document, Review and Improve Aspects of WSP

Implementation

1.2 Manual to be referred

This training module is extracted from operation and maintenance Part-G of the manual.
Please refer it whenever necessary.

DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
1
Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module – G for
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

1.3 Session – G1: Introduction to Water Safety Plan

MODULE – G: RURAL WATER SAFETY PLAN

SESSION – G1 INTRODUCTION TO WATER SAFETY PLAN

1.3.1. Introduction A Water Safety Plan (WSP) is the most effective way of ensuring that a
water supply is safe and reliable for human consumption and that it meets
the health and demand based standards and other regulatory requirements.

It is based on a comprehensive risk assessment and risk management

approach to all the steps in a water supply chain from catchment to
consumer.

As it is well known, the water sources are in one way another contaminated
and depleted due to climate change and interference of human being
(various development activities in the catchment areas). In order to mitigate
the hazards and risk associated with these factors, various stakeholders and
community need to be involved and work by integration. So, this module will
learn that identification of stakeholders, identification hazards and risks,
looking for mitigation measures by providing control system and so on will be
elaborated.

1.3.2. Objective At the end of this session, the participants are:

 Aware on how WSP team is assembled,

 Indentified hazards and assessed the risk through the catchment to

the end users,

 Understand how to put control measures and monitor the

implementation of WSP,

 Understand how to prepare management system and follow up,

 What would be expected as a support from various government

offices

Outputs Participants understood the team assembly, planning, implementing and

managing of waster safety plan to enhance the quality as well as the quantity
of water sources.

Timing 1 and ½ hours

Target Group Regional Water Bureau, Zone and Woreda Water Offices, WASHCOs

Session Guide
1.3.3. Step 1: Water safety plans provide a reliable framework for communities to
Background strengthen their capacities and capabilities with a focus on cost-effective
management of their water supplies.
The present guidance document puts water safety planning in the context of

DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
2
Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module – G for
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

MODULE – G: RURAL WATER SAFETY PLAN

rural community water supplies and provides a step-by-step approach for
those charged with dealing with the everyday realities of maintaining a
reliable, safe supply.
It addresses members of rural communities themselves, in addition to those
supporting them in their endeavours to bring safe and clean water collectively
to millions of people.

Challenges in meeting minimum standard for providing of clean

water supply:

 Heavy rainfall eroded the soil in the catchment area and improper
farming practices,

 Temporal and time variation of rainfall causes the deficiency of water

quantity to satisfy the demand of the community.

 Deforestation of trees to have more farm land as a result of population

pressure,

 Application of fertilizer in the farmlands that could be washed and

percolated to deep and contaminate the ground water.

 Poor sanitation – Poor access to sanitation may result in the

contamination of the water source and may also lead to the potential
cross contamination of spring and HDW

 Animal dung around water sources affect the quality of water

This manual is designed to engage, empower and guide communities in the

development and implementation of water safety plans (WSPs) for their
water supply systems.
It provides guidance on how to apply effective and achievable management
actions in order to improve the safety and quality of supplied water.
 Traditional and Water Safety Plan Approaches:

DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
3
Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module – G for
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

MODULE – G: RURAL WATER SAFETY PLAN

Traditionally, the water utilities have only focused from the point of
abstraction to the water meter while Woreda or WASHCOs only focused at
point sources that excluded the remote catchments’

But, the WSP approach includes an evaluation of the water supply system
from the water source to the point of consumption.

First we concentrate on the management of the surface water and/or ground

water source;

Second, we optimize the operations to eliminate and deactivate the hazards

that affect water quality and quality.

Finally, we work to prevent the recontamination and deficiency of the treated

water during distribution, storage, and handling at the household level.

1.3.4. Purpose of WSP

Water Safety Plans aim to:

 seek to prevent contamination of water from the source to the point of
consumption;
 to treat the water to reduce or remove contamination that could be
present to the extent necessary to meet the water quality targets;
 To prevent re-contamination during storage, distribution and handling
of drinking-water.
 Give consumers greater involvement and control over maintaining
water quality.
 To ensure the reliability of water supply to satisfy the demand
requirement of the consumers.

1.3.5. Why should WSPs be applied to community water

supplies?

By following the WSP approach, community members identify and prioritize

health risks and, where necessary, take steps, over time, to improve the
safety of the water supply using available resources.

Implementing a WSP will improve day to- day risk management and
operation of the water supply and will ultimately lead to consistently safer
water.

The WSP process encourages a team-based approach, improving

cooperation and engagement with stakeholders and technical experts.

Community water suppliers may find it difficult to immediately meet

community, Woreda or national water quality targets or objectives,
particularly when resources are limited.

DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
4
Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module – G for
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

MODULE – G: RURAL WATER SAFETY PLAN

The WSP philosophy recognizes that even small, readily achievable

improvements are better than none and encourages the adoption of a
prioritized, “incremental improvement plan”.

The improvement schedule laid out in a well-documented WSP should

support community requests for resources to implement further water supply
improvements. With a clear community WSP in hand, government and other
financial supporters may be more inclined to consider supportive funding for
corrective work and upgrading.

1.3.6. How can a WSP be developed and implemented in a

community water supply?

Task 1 - Engage the

community and
assemble a WSP
team

Task 2 -
Task 6 - Document, Describe the
review and improve Community
all aspects of water Water Supply
safety plan
implementation

Task 3 - Identify and

assess hazards,
Task 5 – Monitor hazardous events,
control measures risks and existing
and verifies the control measures
effectiveness of
the WSP
Task 4 - Develop
and implement an
incremental
improvement plan

DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
5
Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module – G for
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

MODULE – G: RURAL WATER SAFETY PLAN

Table 1-1: Summary of tasks involved in developing and implementing

a WSP for community-managed supplies
Task No. Description Key Questions Key Outcomes
of Tasks
Task - 1 Engage the Who needs to  A community empowered
community be, should be through interest and ownership
and and wants to in the management of its water
assemble a be involved? supply
WSP  Support from Water and health
team staff in the concerned
administrative unit (e.g. Woreda,
kebeles) and/or from
experienced NGOs
 Linkage to prevailing
government policies, water
quality standards, laws and local
by-laws
Task - 2 Describe the Have we Proper documentation of the
community accurately community water supply (with
water captured the drawings, maps, photos, water
supply details of our quality records and relevant
water supply management and institutional
system? records)
Task - 3 Identify and How serious  Improved knowledge of hazards
assess is the risk of a and hazardous events and
hazards, hazard causing associated risks to public health
hazardous harm? in the system
events, risks  Improved understanding of how
and existing the risks are currently being
control addressed (what control
measures measures are in place and
whether they are suitable and
effective) and what risks may
need further control.
Task - 4 Develop and How do we get  Scoping of opportunities to
implement an to where we improve drinking-water quality
incremental want to be? (by new or modified control
improvement measures)
plan  Priority actions identified to
improve management and safety
of the supply, including
proposed timelines and needed
resources
 Engagement of the community
in implementation of the
improvements
Task - 5 Monitor control Are the control  Operational monitoring and
measures measures and inspections demonstrating that
and verify the the plan control measures continue to work
effectiveness of working? effectively
the WSP  Verification that the WSP is
appropriate and working effectively
to provide safe drinking-water

DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
6
Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module – G for
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

MODULE – G: RURAL WATER SAFETY PLAN

Task - 6 Document, What do we  Well-established management

review and need to do to procedures for normal, incident
improve all ensure that our and emergency situations shared
aspects of WSP WSP works well with the WSP team and those
implementation and to improve it responsible for managing the
continuously? community water supply
 Supporting activities established
to embed the WSP approach into
water supply operations (e.g.
training and education)
 Establishment of processes to
review the WSP periodically,
ensuring that the WSP remains up
to date and effective, resulting in
incremental improvements to
water safety
Review questions Have you understood the difference between traditional approach and water
safety plan approach? How the two treat the water quality and quantity and
ensure the safe water supply to the community.
Session Attachment 1: Tools to provoke discussion
Attachments

Attachment 1: Non-functionality of rural water supply Schemes (NWI_2011) and Diagrams

for discussion on aspects of operation, maintenance and
sustainability

DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
7
Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module – G for
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
8
Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module – G for
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
9
Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module – G for
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

Real Situation in Tigray Region

DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
10
Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module – G for
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

1.4 Session – G2: Task – 1: Engage the Community and Assemble a

WSP team

MODULE – G: RURAL WATER SAFETY PLAN

SESSION – G2 TASK – 1 : ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY AND ASSESMBLE A WSP

TEAM

Introduction The first session recommends the formation of a water safety plan team. It
requires collaboration from a variety of professionals: water supply system
operators, lab personnel-chemists and microbiologists, engineers, environmental
health scientists, health professionals, public relations-media and regulatory
agency personnel.

In many of the communities where the WWO works the Water Safety Plan team
includes community members because it is the community that has responsibility
for managing their own water supply; or, community members have responsibility
for the transport, storage, and disinfection of their own water supply.

Objective At the end of this session, the participants are able to:

 Assemble a WSP team from the community as well as other professionals

Outputs  Established a water safety plan team

Timing 1 hour

Target Group Regional Water, Agriculture, Health Bureau and their descendants at Zone and
Worda Offices, WASHCOs
Methodology
Lecture and exercise

Session Guide
Step – 1:
 Engaging the community and assembling a WSP team are an essential
Engaging the
means to:
community and
assembling the
 Identify the community’s aspirations and needs in respect of their water supply,
WSP team
through an inclusive process that considers gender as well as elderly and
vulnerable community members;

 Balance water supply needs against competing community-level priorities,

such as housing and education;

 tap into local knowledge and experience in the identification, assessment and
management of risks;

 identify resources within the community that can be called upon when needed;

 initiate a dialogue between the community and other stakeholders

(government, NGOs, water service delivery and public health agencies) on the
benefits and requirements of a well-functioning water supply and the joint

DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
11
Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module – G for
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

MODULE – G: RURAL WATER SAFETY PLAN

preparation of a WSP;

 Raise awareness of the role that community members can play in protecting
and improving their water supply.

A successful WSP will have involved the community throughout the entire
process and, ideally, is led at the community level.

Step 2: How do
it!
a) Engage the community

Buy-in from decision-makers for the WSP process is needed to obtain support for
changes in the operation, maintenance and management of the community water
supply and to ensure that sufficient resources are available.

The community as a whole can be engaged in a number of ways:

■ It is generally more efficient and effective to identify suitable members of

the community to represent the community’s interests as part of a WSP
team.

■ Other methods of engagement include, for example, public meetings,

participatory techniques (e.g. participatory rural appraisal, mapping,
transect walk, pocket chart) and subgroup (corner) meetings by service
areas or interest groups (women, the poor, farmers).

■ A visit to a nearby community that has successfully applied a WSP is a

good way to trigger interest in the approach.

b) Assemble a WSP team

The WSP team will be responsible for developing, implementing and maintaining
the WSP. The team is also needed to help the community to understand and
accept the WSP approach. When choosing WSP team members, it is best to
consult community leaders, such as elders, WASHCOs or other persons who
know the community well. Ideally, team members will have varying backgrounds.
People who have one or more of the following characteristics should be
considered for team membership:

■ Is familiar with, and uses from the water supply;

■ is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the water supply or has

helped during construction or earlier repairs;

■ has the authority to make decisions about spending money, training,

recruiting staff and/or making changes to the water supply;

■ has the knowledge and capacity to identify and characterize potential risks
to the water supply from the catchment to the consumer;

■ is responsible for or has the capacity to help manage and prevent those
risks;

DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
12
Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module – G for
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

MODULE – G: RURAL WATER SAFETY PLAN

■ Is influential and interested, at both the community level and at least one
administrative level up, in representing water quality concerns and
investment needs at the Woreda level or higher.

 It helps to include people with knowledge of the catchment area (e.g. land
owners and users) and of the history of the water supply in the community (e.g.
community elders),

 Those with the greatest interest in safe water (often women) and those who
can influence how the water supply is managed (e.g. community leaders and
opinion leaders).

 Health staff and agriculture office should also be considered as members or

resource persons.

 NGOs, local consultancy firms (WSGs and CFTs) can provide assistance in
identifying hazards and prioritizing risks and, during subsequent
implementation of the WSP, may facilitate support and assistance, financial or
in-kind, monitoring of services and water quality, surveillance and independent
oversight, technical advice and guidance, training and education to build
understanding and expertise.

c) Document team membership

Once the WSP team is identified, participants’ names and roles should be
documented and shared with all team members and the community.

Tips:
 It may not be possible to bring together the entire team right at the beginning.
Part of the WSP process is to identify gaps in the community’s knowledge and
expertise and to work together to fill those gaps.
New members can easily be added later in the process, or persons with
specific expertise (e.g. a public health officer or a teacher) may need to be
invited for a few sessions only.
 The WSP team should plan to meet regularly to develop, implement and
review the WSP.
It is likely that more meetings will be needed during the initial stages of WSP
development. As WSP implementation progresses and the team become more
familiar with the WSP approach, fewer meetings may be required.
 Community engagement should not be limited to the start of the process.
It is beneficial to try to engage community members throughout the WSP
process and mobilize them for each of the main tasks.
It is important to focus particularly on women, as they are often responsible for
water collection and family health, and schoolchildren, who can study aspects
of the system (e.g. types of animals and crops in the catchment).

DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
13
Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module – G for
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

MODULE – G: RURAL WATER SAFETY PLAN

 An annual water week (or day) festival focusing on water safety, water quality,
sanitation and hygiene, organized in the community, is a good way to raise
interest and may make it possible to generate the resources for improvements.
For example, the WSP team could consider planning an event around already
established community events or around World Water Day (22 March) and
linking it with any activities being planned in the region by other stakeholders,
including government and NGOs.
 In new schemes, it should be easier to incorporate the WSP approach in the
community mobilization and planning phase.
 In existing schemes, a fresh effort may be needed to raise interest and
generate a community drive for developing and implementing a WSP.
 Regional Water Bureaus, Zone and Woreda Water, Health and Agriculture
Offices and NGOs should be engaged from the beginning, as they may be
interested in and able to provide support for developing and implementing a
WSP.
 The WSP team may wish to explore partnership arrangements for peer-to-peer
support.
Partnerships could be formed between two neighboring communities to
facilitate knowledge exchange for community-managed supplies that are both
initiating a WSP or where a community experienced with the WSP approach
would help the other community in setting up the WSP process. Partnerships
could also be formed between a larger organized supply and a community-
managed supply, where the larger supply would support the community-
managed supply.

Outputs:
A team of individuals representing the community’s interests:
 with knowledge of the water supply system and how to identify and
prioritize potential risks to the community water supply, including
health, social, environmental, development and physical planning
considerations
 with interest in promoting sustained access to safe drinking-water
 who can help mitigate risks
Support from relevant government units and NGOs

Review
What has been missed in engaging community and assemble WSP team?
Session None
Attachments

DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
14
Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module – G for
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

1.5 Session – G3: Task - 2 Describe the Community Water Supply

MODULE – WATER SAFETY PLAN
G

SESSION – TASK 2 - DESCRIBE THE COMMUNITY WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM

G3
Appropriate
Community Trainer with experience in community water projects; Technician with the
Facilitator
relevant practical and technical background from Woreda Water Offices
Background
Introduction
This session describes the water supply system from its water source to the point of
consumers.
Objectives
At the end of the session , participants are able to:

 Understand the various components of the water supply system, which is

important to identify hazards and assessment of risks.
Outputs
An Operation and Maintenance Plan which includes:

 Participants carried out mapping of the water supply system;

Timing
1 hour

Target Group
 Regional Water, health and Agriculture Bureaus,

 Zone and Woreda line offices

 WASHCOs.
Methodology
 Presentation and discussion

 Site walks around the system components

 Practical demonstrations and exercises

Session
Guide
Step – 1:
The WSP development process provides a framework to give the community a
Water
better understanding of the health concerns related to their water supply and
Supply
empower it to act through ownership over its water supply. A complete map and
System
description of the water supply system are a precious source of information that
will help the WSP team and the community members identify hazards and their
potential impacts on water safety.

DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
15
Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module – G for
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

Step 2: a) Draw a map

How do
identify the The first task of the WSP team will be to understand what is in place. An easy way to
water supply do this is to make a map/flow diagram of the water supply, including relevant
system elements of the catchment area and the community served. A great deal of
information can be recorded and presented in a drawing. Such mapping of the
community water supply from catchment to consumer is an essential part of the water
supply description.
Figure 1-1: Example of drawing a map

Maps should be sufficiently detailed to easily identify hazards and risks to the water
supply. Therefore, when a community water supply is made up of a number of
connected components, it may be helpful to develop an overview map of the entire
community supply as well as detailed maps/ schematics of each water supply
component.

b) Gather supporting information

General information also needs to be gathered and recorded to describe the water
supply and its management, including the various sources in use.

The type of information collected should include, but is not limited to:
 relevant water quality standards;
 known or suspected changes in source water quality relating to weather or other

DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
16
Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module – G for
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

conditions;
 details relating to the land uses in the catchment;
 details relating to the treatment, distribution and storage of the water;
 who uses the water supply and for what purpose;
 the person(s) currently responsible for operating the system and what education
and training they received;
 what financial and human resources are available for managing and operating the
supply;
 management procedures (e.g. operations, maintenance, inspection), if they exist;
 the legal ownership of land used and other properties in the catchment;
 Details on existing sanitation facilities, including their location.
c) Check the map and water supply description

It is important for the WSP team to physically check the description of the water
supply system through a walk or site inspection (e.g. by following the “flow of water”
through the water supply system). Taking photos and reviewing related
documentation can also be useful. The water supply map and description should be
updated based on this check. This activity could also be conducted as part of ‘’a’’
(drawing a map).

d) Discuss and identify community water supply objectives

The following questions can help in developing holistic community water supply
objectives:
 What do we want and need from our water supply?
 What are our current water supply and sanitation systems, and how are they
operated?
 What problems are there with the water supply?
 Who is involved, and who should be involved, in ensuring that we have the water
we need and want?
 What else, other than the water supply, is needed for a healthy and sustainable
community?
 What other water supply aspects should/can be considered (e.g. other activities
for which water is needed, such as fruit and vegetable gardening, growing rice
seedlings for transplanting, domestic livestock)?
It is important to discuss the benefits of safe drinking-water and good hygiene with
the community and the linkages among water supply, sanitation and hygiene.
Hygiene education and health promotion activities, received via other community
members, from public health staff, by mass media or while in school, should be
reinforced.
With understanding comes an appreciation of the value of hygienic behaviors on
health, opening the door to sustained behavior change.

DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
17
Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module – G for
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

Table 1-2: Examples of factors to be considered when describing the major components of
Rural piped water supply system
Catchment/abstractio Treatment Storage and User installations
n distribution
Catchment:  What water treatment  Are the storage  What are the current
 What are the processes are in place, tanks protected water uses (e.g. drinking,
characteristics of the and how are they (e.g. rainproof with preparation of food,
water source(s) (e.g. configured? gutters)? personal hygiene, clothes
quantity and quality)?  What chemicals and  Are there screens washing, domestic
 Are there seasonal or materials are used for on ventilation and livestock, vegetable
weather variations? treatment? What are the overflows to farming) and future needs
What is their impact on availability and quality of prevent vermin and (quantity and quality)?
the quality and quantity the chemicals? How are animal entry?  What are the numbers
of the water source(s)? they stored?  Is there adequate and type of users,
 Where is the catchment  Is the water disinfected? protection/security including commercial
and recharge area? If so, what methods and on storage tanks users (e.g. homes, hotels,
 What are the disinfectants are used? with locked gates institutions, workshops,
catchment Is there sufficient and hatches? small industry)?
characteristics, disinfectant (e.g.  Are there separate  Are there any vulnerable
including details on chlorine) contact time for inlets and outlets at groups or special needs
land use (e.g. proper disinfection? varying heights on within the population,
household, sanitation,  Is water quality opposite sides of including the infirm or sick
industry, agriculture, monitored? How? How tanks to promote and aged? Are there
wildlife)? often? Where? good mixing? health station and
Abstraction (for spring  Are treatment plant  What construction schools?
boxes, wells, operators trained? materials are used  Do households treat and
boreholes, streams,  Are there minimum in the store water? By what
etc.): competency standards, infrastructure, and means?
 Where is the and do operators meet how old is the  How is water collected
abstraction point such standards? infrastructure? and transported?
located, and how does  Does the  Are the water points and
it operate? distribution operate house connections
 What human activities constantly or inspected, and is water
take place near the intermittently? quality tested? How?
abstraction point?  Is there secondary How often?
 What types of disinfection, and, if  Is water quality monitored
sanitation facilities are so, are chlorine at water points and at
in the community (or is residuals in critical households? By whom?
open defecation being points in the How often? What
practiced)? Where are system monitored education/training has
these sanitation and recorded? been given to the
facilities located?  What is the community about its
 What is their distance average pressure water supply?
from the abstraction in the system, and  How is wastewater
point? does it vary? What handled?
 What is the abstraction is the flow rate at  Is there backflow
infrastructure made of, the tank inlet and prevention?
and how old is it? tap points in the  What material is used for
 What is the system? domestic pipe work, and
capacity/flow of  Is water quality how old is it?
abstraction? monitored?  Are consumers aware of
 Are there protection  How? How often? regulatory requirements
measures around the Where? for drinking-water quality
abstraction area (e.g. (e.g. drinking-water
fencing, grating)? standards)?
Review
1. Why is needed to describe the water system components?
Questions

DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
18
Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module – G for
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

2. Do you understand the function of each water supply system?

3. What WSP is required for different water supply component?

Session
N/A
Attachments

DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
19
Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module – G for
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

1.6 Session – G4: Identifying Hazard, Hazardous Event, Risks and

Existing Control Measures
MODULE – G RURAL WATER SAFETY PLAN
SESSION – G4 TASK 3 - IDENTIFY HAZARD, HAZAROUS EVENTS, RISK AND
EXISTING CONTROL MEASURES
Introduction In this session the system has to be described in detail, which will help
facilitators identify and describe how hazards and hazardous events affect the
functionality of the water supply system. After identifying the hazards, the
consequence of those hazards need to be assessed. Such issues will be
address in this training session.
Objective At the end of the session, the participants will be able to:
 Identify the potential hazards at different components of the system
 Understand the situation of introduce the hazard events.
 Identify the risks an its control measures
Outputs The participants gained knowledge on the hazards and how to mitigate it to
meet standard water quality and replenish of the quantity.
Timing Session should take approximately 3 hr
Target Group Regional Water, Health and Agriculture Bureaus and descendant at Zone and
Wored level, and WASHCOs

Methodology This is intended to be a PRACTICAL session. The components will be taught

by demonstration on the system itself. The flip chart can be used to illustrate
details if necessary.

Reinforce the learning by allowing participants to identify components and

describe their functions to each other.
Session Guide
Step 1: The process of hazard identification involves identifying actual and potential
Introduction dangers and their causes. Hazard identification should be based on community
knowledge (including historical information), recurring local events (e.g. heavy
runoff or floods during heavy rainfall periods or thaw), checklists included in
water supply guidelines or developed by Woreda water and health offices,
sanitary inspections and expert advice.

Ask the participants if they would like to explain what is happening to the
quality of drinking water in their area? Is water quality monitoring and
surveillance carried out? Did you conduct WQ before developing the water
sources? If so how were the results? Did you carry out WQ test later on after
implementation and service? What were the result compare with the WQ prior
to developing the water source?
This session will explain and define the adequacy of supply indicators
[quantity, quality, coverage, continuity, and cost] and the importance of these
concepts for a water safety plan.)

DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
20
Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module – G for
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

Step 2: What are When people fall ill not long after drinking the water from the water supply
the most system, it may indicate that drinking-water has been contaminated with
common microbial pathogens or, much less commonly, poisoned with chemicals from
hazards? industrial or agricultural accidents.

How to do it
a) Look for signs of hazards and hazardous events
When identifying hazards and hazardous events, the WSP team should first
look for signs that may signal issues caused by contaminated water supplies.
Some common signs are presented in Table 1-3.

Hazards: A biological, chemical, physical or radiological agent that can

cause harm to public health. If people use empty pesticide containers to collect
drinking-water, the pesticide residues that are likely to contaminate the water
pose a clear health hazard.

Hazardous event: An incident or situation that introduces or amplifies a

hazard to, or fails to remove a hazard from, the water supply. Heavy rainfall is
a hazardous event that may create pathways for microbial pathogens in
excreta (the hazard) to enter the source water, distribution system or storage
tank.
Risk: The likelihood of a hazard causing harm to exposed populations in a
specific time frame and the magnitude and/ or consequences of that harm. The
practice of open defecation creates a risk associated with microbial pathogens
in human excreta, especially during rainfall, as runoff containing human
excreta is likely to contaminate drinking-water sources with disease-causing
organisms.
Table 1-3: Sign of chronic health based issued caused by contaminated
water supply

Potential Signs Possible Hazards Contamination

sources/Hazardous
events

Acute water-related health issues

Diarrhea and dysentery Open defecation or nearby
(including occasional Microbial pathogens sanitation facilities cause
outbreaks of cholera and faecal matter to enter the
typhoid fever) and other source water
waterborne infections such or the system
as hepatitis are widespread Source contamination from
within the community, agriculture (use of manure) or
particularly affecting the wildlife
young, old and health Dirty water with suspended
compromised particles such as silt, clay or
organic matter, often from
flood
waters or following rainstorms
Chronic water-related health issues
Mottling and staining of teeth Naturally occurring in some
in High fluoride levels groundwater

DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
21
Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module – G for
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

young children and

teenagers, brittle bones and
crippling
Pigmentation changes High arsenic levels Naturally occurring in some
(melanosis) and thickening groundwater
of the skin (hyperkeratosis),
increased rates of cancers
Skin irritation (skin rash, High nutrient levels in warm
hives, itchy eyes and throat), Algae and algal and stagnant surface water
tingling around the mouth toxins (ponds, tanks), resulting in
and fingertips, slurred algal blooms, which may
speech; animals who drink release toxins
the water may die
Aesthetic issues
High corrosion rates of High metal Soft, acidic water (e.g.
metals in contact with water concentrations; may rainwater) in contact with
pose health concern unprotected metal pipes and
in some cases (e.g. fittings
lead)
Stains on fixtures or laundry, High metal May result from corroding
colored water with metallic concentrations pipes in the distribution
taste  copper system; in borehole supplies, it
(green/blue-colored may be naturally occurring in
water or stains); groundwater with elevated iron
may pose health and manganese levels or from
concern “overturning” of reservoirs

 iron (brown/red-
coloured water)
 manganese
(black/dark brown
stains)
Unpleasantly salty taste High sodium chloride Naturally occurring in some
levels; may pose groundwater, may be from
health concerns to seawater (coastal areas) or
those on sodium caused by runoff of road salt
restricted diets (cold climates) or evaporation
residue in irrigated areas (hot
climates)
Brown-coloured water High levels of natural Naturally occurring in some
without organic surface waters from lakes or
particles matter; could result in rivers with submerged
high levels of vegetation
disinfection by-
products if water is
chlorinated
Soap does not lather, white High hardness Usually from limestone and
scale (calcium and chalk aquifers
builds up on pots or kettles magnesium); not
when harmful to health, but
water is heated may make the water
difficult to treat and
use

b) Identify hazards and hazardous events

The WSP team should identify hazards and hazardous events for each stage
of the drinking-water supply by asking the questions:

DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
22
Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module – G for
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

What can go wrong? How, When, Where and

Why?

 For each component identified in the water supply map, the WSP team
should identify the relevant hazards and hazardous events. Some are
obvious, and others need reflection and on-site checking. Their
occurrence and control depend on many factors, including:

 type of source water (surface water, groundwater, rainwater);

 how the water is distributed (piped, carried, storage, materials used,

distance and time);

 location (hillside, flood-prone area, near roads or developed areas);

 social situation (public or private taps, personal hygiene practices,

waste and wastewater disposal, supply also used for animal watering or
crop irrigation);

 energy supply and mechanicals (availability, reliability and location of

fuel and electricity, maintenance and spare parts);

 hours of supply (intermittent, permanent or only dry season);

 Availability of chemicals and funds for treatment and distribution.

 The WSP team should consider not only the obvious hazards and
hazardous events associated with the water supply, but also the potential
for them to occur or be compounded through:

 lack of understanding of the water supply system and how to operate it;

 operational failures, as a result of power shutdown or disruption;

 various shortcomings associated with faulty infrastructure;

 treatment failures, including equipment breakdown or operator error;

 accidental contamination;

 natural hazardous events, including heavy rainfall, thaw, landslides,

floods or droughts;

 Human-made disasters, resulting from neglect or sabotage.

DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
23
Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module – G for
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

Table 1-4: Examples of hazards and hazardous events organized by different

components of a drinking-water supply

DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
24
Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module – G for
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

c) Assess risk associated with hazards and hazardous

events
 The WSP team can undertake risk assessments in a number of ways.
Approaches vary in accuracy, complexity and effort. For WSP team
members, this exercise is often a gradual learning curve of growing
understanding and appreciation of the risks. Generally, it is better for the
team to start with less complicated risk assessments and progress to more
precise approaches as more information, skills and resources become
available.

This section covers two approaches that could be considered:

■ descriptive risk assessment and

■ Risk ranking.

 If possible, the WSP team should have an engineer, environmentalist, a

public health inspector or a similar expert from respective Regions or NGO
help with the hazard identification and risk assessment. They may not be
needed for the whole process, but as they have broader experience, they
may come up with issues that the team missed.
i) Descriptive risk assessment
The simplest risk assessment method is descriptive risk assessment. In this
approach, the hazards and hazardous events are prioritized based on the
team’s judgment.

For each hazard and hazardous event, the WSP team should consider the
significance of each risk (see Table 3.5), reflecting on and recording how likely
it is that the event will occur in the community and how serious it might be,
along with a consideration of the effectiveness of any existing control
measures that are in place to mitigate those risks.

 The WSP team should discuss and compare each listing until it agrees on
which issues are of greater or lesser importance.

 The team should then write down the issues in order of importance and
double-check the entire list to make sure that it makes sense.

 At the end of this process, the team has a list of issues to be addressed,
with those of greatest concern at the top.

 Revisiting the initial listing made in this risk assessment may be helpful, as
team members may have learned more about their “real life” risks in the
process and may wish to adjust some of their assessments.
Undertaking a risk assessment is often a matter of knowing the system,
combined with common sense.
For example, broken platforms or allowing clothes washing to be done on the
well apron can increase the potential for contamination of the well water with
soap or faecal matter. In community water supply schemes, many
improvements can be made by consumers clearing and cleaning the sources

DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
25
Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module – G for
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

and water points on a regular basis. It is a worthwhile effort that can be done
with little money.

Table 1-5: Example definitions of descriptors for use in descriptive risk assessment

 When the WSP team has insufficient information or knowledge available

and thus is uncertain in assessing whether or not a risk is significant,
risks should be clearly flagged for further investigation. Further study may
need to be conducted, or views from experts may need to be sought. It is
not uncommon that further information needs to be gathered for the risk
assessment.

ii) Risk ranking

The second risk assessment approach is a more formal, two-step process.

This method can be applied if the community has some higher-level support
(e.g. water quality unit of the Woreda water Office or health inspector) or
additional resources in the community. Whereas the previous method focuses
primarily on listing and ranking the hazardous events, in this method, the WSP
team tries to assess the likelihood of the hazardous event actually occurring
and the consequence or severity of the impact of the event to the community.
1. As a first step, the WSP team should draw up definitions for the
likelihood (e.g. what is meant by unlikely, possible and likely) and
consequence (e.g. what is meant by minor impact, moderate impact
and major impact) categories (see Table 1.6). This should be
conducted to facilitate consistency in assessments for all parts of the

DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
26
Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module – G for
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

water supply system and over time.

Table 1-6: Example likelihood and severity definitions for the risk ranking
approach

Box: 2 Definitions of likelihood of hazardous event to happen and consequences

Likelihood Assigne
d score Description
level

1 Could occur at some time but has not been observed; may occur only in
Unlikely
exceptional circumstances

Possible 2 Might occur at some time; has been observed occasionally

Likely 3 Will probably occur in most circumstances; has been observed regularly

Consequenc Assigne
Description
e level d score

1 Minor or negligible water quality impact (e.g. aesthetic impact, not health
No/minor
related) for a small percentage of customers; some manageable
impact
disruptions to operation; rise in complaints not significant

2 Minor water quality impact (e.g. aesthetic impact, not health related) for a
Moderate
large percentage of customers; clear rise in complaints; community
impact
annoyance; minor breach of regulatory requirement

3 Major water quality impact; illness in community associated with the water
Major impact supply; large number of complaints; significant level of customer concern;
significant breach of regulatory requirement

Source: Adapted from WHO SCWS WSP manual

 The WSP team should then compare the listings for all hazardous events
and their relative likelihood and consequences to make sure that they
have been categorized appropriately. Each event is then mapped in a
matrix (see Table 1.7) to get a risk ranking.
Table 1-7: Example risk matrix for the risk ranking approach

Severity/consequences

No/minor impact Moderate impact Major impact

Likely Medium High High

Likelihood

Possible Low Medium High

Unlikely Low Low Medium

DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
27
Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module – G for
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

 To support the risk ranking, the WSP team should define what is meant by
significant (e.g. high and medium) risks so that these can easily be
distinguished from less significant risks (see Table 1-8).
Table 1-8: Example risk ranking definitions to prioritize actions
Risk Meaning Description
ranking
High Clearly a Actions need to be taken to minimize the
priority: risk. Possible options should be
requires documented (as part of the improvement
urgent plan developed in the next task) and
attention implemented based on community priorities
and available resources.
Medium Medium- or Actions may need to be taken to minimize
long-term the risk. Possible options should be
priority: documented (as part of the improvement
requires plan developed in the next task) and
attention implemented based on community priorities
and available resources.
Or where the likelihood of a hazard
occurring is low because effective control
measures are in place but the
consequences are major (e.g. microbial
risks), special attention should be given to
maintaining the control measures and their
appropriate operational monitoring to
ensure that the likelihood remains low.
Low Clearly not a Actions may need to be taken but not a
priority priority, or no action is needed at this time.
The risk should be revisited in the future as
part of the WSP review process.
Or control measures are effective, and
attention should be given to ensure that the
risk remains low

DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
28
Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module – G for
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

d) Identify and assess existing control measures

 The WSP needs to identify any existing control measures or barriers that
are already in place and that address potential hazards and hazardous
events.

 Control measures can be technical (e.g. disinfection), infrastructural (e.g.

fencing), behavioral (e.g. pesticide use) or related to planning (e.g. land
use).

 It is very important to assess whether these existing barriers are effective

at eliminating or reducing the identified risks; it should not be taken for
granted that they are working properly.

 If control measures are ineffective or are not currently in place for an

identified significant risk, this should be noted and suggestions for
improvement listed.

 See Task - 4 for additional information on control measures.

Control measures (also referred to as barriers or mitigation

measures): Activities and processes that can be used to prevent,
eliminate or significantly reduce the occurrence of a water safety hazard.

 At the end of this process, the WSP team will have a list of hazards and
corresponding hazardous events to be addressed and a ranking of their
priority.

 An example of how this list could be compiled using the risk ranking
approach is shown in Annex-A
Review  What are the main hazards can you imagine in your area?

 Have you introduced the hazardous events?

 What control measures have you ever adapted?

Session Attachment 1: See Annex - A
Attachments

DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
29
Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module – G for
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

1.7 Session – G5: Task – 4: Develop and Implement an Incremental

Improvement Plan
MODULE – G RURAL WATER SAFETY PLAN
SESSION – TASK 4 - DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT AN INCREMENTAL
G5 IMPROVEMENT PLAN
Introduction The team should review its available resources and the community’s needs against
the information from the risk assessment (Task 3) to identify which water safety
improvements should be implemented with priority and which can be deferred for the
medium or long term. When considering work to reduce or eliminate a risk, positive
spin-offs, such as the opportunity to make the service more reliable or extending the
service area, should be looked at. Comparing costs against all the benefits may
generate more interest in supporting the planned work. The incremental improvement
plan will be a powerful tool to ensure that limited funds, from both within and outside
the community, will be used most effectively.
Objective At the end of the session, the participants will be able to:
 Develop improvement plan to reduce the hazards
 Implement the developed plan and monitor its effectiveness in regular period
 Recommend the mitigation measure to reduce risks
Outputs Awareness created to develop and implement mitigation improvement plan
Timing 2 hours
Target Regional Water, Health and Agriculture Bureaus and their descendant Zone and
Group Woreda offices, WASHCOs
Methodology Lecture, Exercise and field practicing

Materials  Flip chart

 Charts
 Matrix table
Session
Guide
Step 1: How a) Review options to control identified risks
do develop
and In developing and implementing an incremental improvement plan, the WSP team
implement must first review the significant risks determined to require additional control and, for
Improvemen each of these risks, list possible measures that could be put in place to address it.
t Plan?
The aim of control measures includes, but is not limited to:
 eliminating or reducing contaminants in the source water, thus preventing them
from entering the water supply;
 removing particles and chemicals from the water or killing or inactivating
pathogens (i.e. using control measures through treatment, if necessary);
 preventing contamination during drinking-water storage, distribution and handling,
DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
30
Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module – G for
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

Table 1-9: Example control measures organized by different components of

water supply

See Annex – B of Table 1.9 Control Measures which is referred under this
session.

b) Select control measures, and develop an incremental improvement

plan to implement them

 Based on the control measures identified in (a), an improvement plan should

be developed.

 It is not always feasible for a small community to address every possible

significant risk and put in place all possible control measures that have been
identified at once.

 Limiting factors will include desirable time frames and available resources.
Therefore, control measures to be implemented in the short, medium and long
term should be identified. In developing this incremental improvement plan, the
WSP team should consider:
 the level of risk associated with each hazard and hazardous event;
 control measures to address the risk (i.e. what and how);
 the person(s) responsible for carrying out the control measure (i.e. who);
 timelines for the control measure (i.e. when);
 financial resources needed (i.e. cost);
 Training requirements for operating the control measure.

 Some improvements or control measures will be ready for immediate

implementation at little or no cost. Others will need to be addressed over time
and may require a substantial budget and additional external resources. It is
better not to try to do everything at once, but to use the WSP approach to
make a plan with feasible and realistic time frames (e.g. for three to five years),
prioritizing improvements.

 The WSP team should estimate the costs and labor time associated with each
improvement to provide information for decision-making. Economies that may
be achieved from combining certain improvements should also be estimated.

 Available resources will need to be balanced against the risk assigned to the
hazard and hazardous event. The incremental improvement plan needs to be
realistic and appropriate to the community’s limited resources. There are often
a number of ways to deal with multiple risks. The WSP team will need to
consider the various benefits and costs of all the options, as well as
intermediate or temporary solutions until resources become available for the
preferred permanent solution.

 Communities will need to decide how they will raise the funds needed for the
implementation of the improvements. The incremental improvement plan will
be an excellent prospectus to attract government and other interested local or
external supporters to come forward and assist.
DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
31
Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module – G for
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

 Funds should be raised as part of the regular district budgeting process. Often
some matching funds from the community need to be arranged. These can be
raised through water tariff and/or financial support from NGOs or wealthy
community members. Community action for maintenance of the water supply
also offers great opportunities for communication and information sharing and
facilitates ownership of the WSP by the community.

 An incremental approach allows for improvements to be made over time to

achieve water quality targets or objectives. The improvement plan should be
documented and shared with all those responsible for the improvement
measures. A sample completed form is shown in Table 1-11.
Table 1-10: Example of an improvement plan

Hazardous Plan Do
events What How Who When Cost
Cattle and sheep Exclude Repair fencing Ato X to Repairs to be 500 ETB
can access the cattle around the arrange with carried materials
well and the and sheep catchment Woreda out January
immediate area from area council work 2014
around it, which the team
could result in abstraction
animal faecal area
matter entering
the water supply
Access to water Eliminate Repair leaking W/zo Y to Repairs to be 200 ETB
storage tank potential for covers, develop carried out materials
could result in contaminatio implement sanitary March 2014;
bird/animal waste n an annual inspection Begin
entering treated at water inspection form developing
water storage programme (to and to carry Sanitary
tanks include all out inspection
system tanks) inspections; forms by March
and Ator Z to 2014, complete
develop a make repairs by July 2014;
suitable first annual
sanitary inspection in
inspection form January 2015
Contamination Control Develop and W/zt A to Begin 150 ETB
of treated water potential for implement develop and developing materials
in household contaminatio a consumer distribute pamphlets
storage n at education pamphlets; August
containers due the programme (to Ato 2014, complete
to poor hygiene household include Y to present by December
(e.g. hand level pamphlet at 2014 Pamphlet
dipping distribution and schools distribution and
of cups) information school
sessions at presentations to
primary begin in
and secondary January 2015
schools)

Note that it is essential to monitor the identified control measures to ensure that they
are operating as required. How to do this is discussed further in Task 5.
Review  What did you understand by mean control measures?
 What considerations have been taken when assigning control measures?
Session See Annex – B for Control Measures Matrix
Attachments

DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
32
Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module – G for
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

1.8 Session – G6: Monitor Control Measures and Verify the

Effectiveness of the WSP
MODULE – G RURAL WATER SAFETY PLAN

SESSION – TASK 5 - MONITOR CONTROL MEASURES AND VERIFY THE EFFECTIVNESS

G6 OF THE WSP
Appropriate
Water and health experts knowledge is required to offer this training
Facilitator
Background
Introduction
Session - 6 is stage in the water safety plan when the team makes decisions about
the operational monitoring system. The water safety plan team will need to make
decisions that will describe the implementation of operational monitoring activities,
such as:

 What is going to be monitored?

 How will it be monitored?

 The moment and the frequency of monitoring

 Where it will be monitored

 Who will conduct the monitoring

 Who will receive the results of the monitoring system.

Verification of the effectiveness (Compliance monitoring) of the water safety plan

includes three main activities:

 Compliance monitoring: Is the drinking water that is delivered to consumers

safe?

 Internal and external auditing of operational activities, and

 Consumer satisfaction.
Objective At the end of the session, the participants will be able to:
 Understand the issues to be monitored based on the identified hazards and the
control measures,
 Creating awareness on the roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders
involves in monitoring activities
 Aware on the frequency of monitoring and result analysis
 Create know how of the compliance of delivered water that makes satisfaction
of the consumer in terms of quality and quantity.
 Recognize how poor maintenance of a handpump can reduce water yield
Outputs Understood the monitoring and verification system

DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
33
Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module – G for
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

Timing 6 hrs
Target Group Regional Water, Health and Agriculture Bureaus & their descendants of Zone &
Woreda, and WASHCOs.
Appropriate Lecture room and field
Venue

Methodology
Lecture and group work

Materials  Checklist
 Laboratory results
Session Guide

Step 1:
The purpose of Task 5 is to confirm that the community water supply is operating
Monitoring
as expected and that the WSP is protecting drinking-water safety and public health.
System... How
do It?
Operational monitoring: Planned, ongoing observations using
checklists for visual on-site inspection and simple water quality measurements
to assess whether a community water supply is operating normally—that is,
whether the control measures to prevent, remove or reduce contaminants are
operating effectively (as planned). Operational monitoring of control measures
enables timely detection of operational and water quality problems so that
action can be taken prior to the supply of unsafe drinking-water.

Verification monitoring: Verification monitoring confirms that

water quality targets or objectives are being achieved and maintained and that
the system as a whole is operating safely and the WSP is functioning
effectively. It is typically based on compliance monitoring, internal and external
auditing of the adequacy of the WSP and adherence to operational activities,
and checking consumer satisfaction. In auditing, sanitary inspection formats are
often a useful tool for confirming that measures put in place effectively control
previously identified risks. The results of verification monitoring are typically
included in district, regional or national water supply surveillance programmes.

How to do it
c) Establish a monitoring programme

While there are a number of differences between operational monitoring and

verification monitoring, they are all simply checks to ensure that the water is safe
and the WSP is working effectively. Monitoring programmes should aim to prevent
problems and to correct faults in a timely manner. Monitoring should address both
preventive (detecting risks so that action may be taken before problems occur) and
remedial objectives (identifying problems so that corrective actions can be taken
promptly).

i) Operational monitoring

Quick and easy measurements and observations are best. Examples include

DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
34
Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module – G for
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

observing features during onsite inspections (e.g. the integrity of a fence or

wellhead, practices during water collection) and water quality testing for simple
indicator parameters (e.g. chlorine residual, turbidity, conductivity). Specific
operational monitoring parameters that are appropriate to the local water supply
and the control measures being applied should be selected. Related to water
quality testing, as a minimum, the following parameters that affect drinking-water
quality should be monitored by the operator with support from an external agency if
the operator does not have the capacity to monitor water quality: chlorine residual
and pH (if chlorination is practiced) and turbidity. Operational monitoring is usually
done by the person(s) responsible for the day-to-day operation of the community
water supply.

For each of the monitoring parameters, the operational limits—limits that will trigger
corrective actions— need to be established. Corrective actions aim to bring the
control measure back to operating properly— that is, within the set limits. For
instance, if the fence around the abstraction area is to be checked weekly, as
described in the management procedure, the operational limit is reached when the
fence has been damaged. Clearly, that exceedance will initiate corrective action:
repair. Similarly, when free chlorine residual at a water points falls below a
predetermined limit (e.g. 0.2 mg/l), the chlorine dosing will need to be checked and
adjusted. Monitoring and corrective actions form the control loop that ensures that
unsafe drinking-water is not supplied. Where possible, corrective actions should be
specific and prepared and tested ahead of the event to ensure that they can be put
in place quickly.

An example of an operational monitoring programme is shown in Table 1-12.

Table 1-11: Example of an operational monitoring programme
Control Monitoring Operation Corrective action
measure al
limit
■ Wells are Sanitary integrity Integrity of Repair fence and/or
fenced to of the well and fence or well. Inform land/animal
What: What:
prevent fence well is users/owners as
animal compromis appropriate.
access Visual inspection ed Contact community
within 30 by using per mechanic and/or
metres, and inspection form information plumber and request
ground is XYZ. Completed collected repair.
How: How:
sloped away form given to from Call for ad hoc
from wells. WSP team leader relevant community meeting
for storage and to inspection
review trends. form
When: Monthly When: As soon as identified

On-site at well
Where:
area.
Community Community caretaker
Who: caretaker Who: with mechanic and/or
plumber.
Backup Operational Dysfunctio Repair generator
Generator What: reliability of n of What:
ensures generators generator.
uninterrupted Test runs Contact community
disinfection electrician and
How: How:
during power request checking and
outages. repair
When: Quarterly When: As soon as identified
Where: Generator house

DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
35
Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module – G for
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

Community Community technician

Who: Who:
technician with electrician
Chlorine Free chlorine Free Take manual water sample
dosing is flow- concentration chlorine and analyze to confirm
paced to concentrati online chlorine value.
If chlorine concentrations
ensure on
confirmed to be correct,
consistent is less than follow chlorine non
dosing. 0.2 or compliance procedure.
What: greater What: Otherwise, check
than 1.5 disinfection unit and online
mg/l. analyzer for faults and
adjust/repair accordingly.
If repair of disinfection unit
is not possible, use backup
device.
Online chlorine Water sampling, testing
analyzer and analysis according to
relevant standard
operating procedures.
Chlorine non-compliance
procedure according to
relevant standard
operating procedure.
How: How: Contact community
technician and request
checking and repair of
disinfection unit and online
analyzer.
Check and repair
according to
manufacturer’s manuals.
When: Continuously When: As soon as identified
Clear water tank
Where:
outlet
Community Community caretaker with
caretaker for technician (for repair of
maintenance online chlorine analyzer)
Who: Who: and local public health
and calibration of
officer (for chlorine non-
analyzer compliance procedure)
Cover on Integrity of covers Integrity of Repair/replace cover
What: What
water storage and screens covers or and/or screen
tank and Visual inspection screens is Contact community
vermin by using Compromi technician and request
screening over inspection form sed per repair
vent piping. ABC. Completed information
How: How:
form given to collected
WSP team leader from
for storage and to relevant
review trends inspection
When: Quarterly form. When: As soon as identified
On-site at storage
Where:
tank area
Community Community caretaker
Who: Who:
caretaker with technician

■ Verification monitoring
Verification involves three activities undertaken together to provide evidence that
the WSP is working effectively:
1. Compliance monitoring;
2. Internal and external auditing;
3. Checking consumer satisfaction.
i) Compliance monitoring

DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
36
Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module – G for
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

Compliance monitoring is typically based on water quality testing for faecal indicator
organisms and hazardous chemicals. Typically, the results are checked against
established national water quality standards. Compliance monitoring is usually
carried out by someone not involved in the day-to-day operation of the water
supply, such as a designated and appropriately trained community member or a
public health officer/inspector.
ii) Internal and external auditing

Audits help maintain the quality of implementation of a WSP. Audits should involve
external review by an independent qualified third party. The external review team
may include government officials or the regulatory authority or water quality experts
from neighboring larger utilities. The audit may also involve internal review by
people with responsibilities for the operation or oversight of the water supply.

Auditors may identify additional opportunities for improvement, such as areas

where planned improvements are impractical, procedures are not being properly
followed, resources are insufficient or training or motivational support is required for
staff.

It is essential for the auditors to have detailed knowledge of the delivery of drinking-
water and to verify information in person through site visits, through interviews with
community members responsible for operation of the water supply and by
observing the procedures in place. Records may not always be factually correct,
and, in some cases, equipment that would appear to be working on paper may not
be working in practice.

iii) Checking consumer satisfaction

Consumer use of, and satisfaction with, the water supply is an important indicator of
whether the water supply is operating effectively. Consumer complaints about taste,
colour or odour should raise concern that the drinking-water may not be safe. On
the other hand, water that tastes or smells strange or does not look “clean” may not
be accepted by the community, even though it is perfectly safe. This may lead
consumers to use other, less safe water.

d) Record and share results

All operational monitoring and verification data should be documented, filed and
shared with relevant stakeholders. There may be legal or other requirements to
submit reports to public health or regulatory officials. The WSP team should check
to see who needs to receive this information. If there is no mandatory reporting, the
WSP team should consider who would benefit from receiving these reports.

e) Frequently assess results

Water quality monitoring and sanitary inspection data should be regularly reviewed
to confirm that control measures continue to work and allow for adjustments to stay
within operational limits. For instance, the output of a slow sand filter will decline
over time when clogging of the filter increases. This information tells the operator
when he or she may have to take the filter out of operation for cleaning, at which
time the operator will simultaneously have to provide for extra water storage to tide
consumers over the cleaning break and inform them to use water sparingly for a
few days. Monitoring and audit programmes should aim to prevent problems and to
correct faults in a timely manner.

DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
37
Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module – G for
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

Over time, this documentation will be helpful, as results are analyzed, to explain
historical performance and occurrences and to show what risks occur with what
frequency. This information will help to improve the continued implementation of the
WSP, especially to justify investments.
Review  What do you understand in monitoring of control measures?
 What do you understand verification of monitoring?
Session N/A
Attachments

DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
38
Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module – G for
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

1.9 Session – G7: Task – 6: Document, Review and Improve Aspects of

WSP Implementation
MODULE – G RURAL WATER SAFETY PLAN

SESSION – TASK – 6 DOCUMENT, REVIEW AND IMPROVE ASPECTS OF WSP

G7 IMPLEMENTATION
Appropriate
Water and health experts knowledge is required to offer this training
Facilitator
Background
Introduction
The purpose of Task - 6 is to document the status and the level of operation
and management of the water supply system and to ensure that the WSP
approach is embedded in operations and that the WSP remains up to date and
effective.
Objective At the end of the session, the participants will be able to:
 Understand the level operation and management of WSP
Outputs Understood the operation and management system of WSP
Timing 4 hrs
Target Group Regional Water, Health and Agriculture Bureaus & their descendants of Zone &
Woreda, and WASHCOs.
Appropriate Lecture room and field
Venue

Methodology
Lecture and group work

Materials  Checklist
Session Guide

Step 1:
Operation and
a) Document management procedures
Management
■ Good information on the status of and procedures for running the water supply
of WSP... How
is essential for effective management and planning. The development of the
Do It?
WSP will have yielded a lot of information, for example, on the origin of the
system, its design and construction, or ownership details of the schemes. It is
very important to retain copies of the documentation and to know where the
original files are to be found (e.g. at the Woreda water office).

■ All systems require instructions on how to operate. Management procedures

(e.g. standard operating procedures) and manuals should be available for
individual technical components of the system, such as for a hand pump or
diesel generator. Some procedures also need to be tailor-made to reflect the
actual situation. It is important to have relevant information available and
properly stored.

Documenting operating, maintenance and inspection procedures is important

DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
39
Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module – G for
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

because it:
 helps build confidence that operators and backup support know what to do
and when;
 supports consistent and effective performance of tasks;
 captures knowledge and experience that may otherwise be lost when
community members have moved;
 helps reinforce the importance of the role of the community in the water
supply system;
 helps in training and competency development of new community operators;
 Forms a basis for continuous improvement.
In addition to the technical information needed to run the system, management
procedures should be developed outlining the tasks to be undertaken in managing
all aspects of the water supply, including during emergency situations.

The WSP is an important source of information for drafting these management

procedures. The WSP team also needs to ensure that the different roles and
responsibilities (i.e. who does what, when, where, how and why) for water safety
are clearly understood by everyone involved. An efficient, regular review and
updating cycle is important.

Also, procedures for routine monitoring and inspection activities and their collected
results (see Task 5) are obviously also important management information and
need to be documented.

 As a minimum, the WSP team should document management procedures

for the items included in Table 1-13.

Table 1-12: Examples of management procedures to be documented for a

community water supply system
Catchment/abstraction Treatment Storage and User
distribution installations
Land use zoning and Operation and
Maintenance, Public
management plans. Maintenance cleaning and
information
Procedures and forms schedules and
inspection and
to monitor/ inspect procedures for all
schedules and
education
activities in the aspects of the
procedures for
plans.
catchment area (e.g. treatment cycle of the storage tanks and Procedures
agricultural practices, system (e.g. aeration, pipelines. for notifying
such as fertilizer filtration, chlorination).
Procedures for
customers
application). It may be useful to (factories filling)
(e.g. boil
Maintenance, cleaning post these procedures bottled water and water alert).
and inspection on the wall of the filling stations of Procedures
schedules and treatment plant for tankers conveying for
procedures for easy access. drinking-water, if
responding to
abstraction Operational monitoring relevant. and
infrastructure. procedures to confirm investigating
Schedules and the effectiveness of consumer
procedures to monitor treatment processes complaints
raw water quality. (e.g. for turbidity and about taste or
Procedures for notifying chlorine levels). odour
source water users Schedules and procedures to monitor drinking-water quality
(including downstream (compliance monitoring).

DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
40
Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module – G for
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

users) during incidents

or accidents in the
catchment/source
water(s).

Additional information to be recorded, collected and stored for easy retrieval

includes the following:
 accurate and accessible system information (e.g. location of abstraction
points and distribution system, including tanks, valves, pumps, washouts,
etc., construction materials used, age of infrastructure);
 operational roles and responsibilities;
 contact details for operators and caretakers (with mobile phone numbers if
available);
 contact details for water equipment suppliers;
 training programmes for operators, contractors and water committee
members;
 design standards for infrastructure;
 relevant plumbing codes and standards and enforcement procedures;
 compliance monitoring results; copies of results shared with public health
and water supply regulatory authority (as required by regulation);
 audits, inspections and security check programmes;
 programme for reviewing/revising documentation;
 annual reports/financial statements;
 Documentation on periodic review and revision/amendment of the WSP.

b) Participate in supporting activities

Supporting activities are important in ensuring water safety, even though they may
not affect water quality directly. They incorporate the principles of good
management that underpin the WSP. Codes of good operating, management and
hygienic practices are essential elements in this respect. These are often standard
operating procedures or system operating rules.

Water suppliers or their associations will ordinarily have supporting activities in

place as part of their normal operations. For most, the implementation of supporting
activities will involve collating existing operational and management practices, initial
and periodic review and updating to continually improve practices, promoting good
practices to encourage their use and auditing practices to check that they are being
used, including taking corrective actions, where necessary.

Supporting programmes can include, but are not limited to:

 training programmes for personnel involved in the water supply;

 tools for managing the actions of staff, such as quality assurance systems;

 education of community members whose activities may influence water

quality;

DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
41
Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module – G for
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

 communication protocols to ensure that there is a clear and defined pathway

for communicating information;

 mechanisms for tracking consumer complaints and actions taken to respond

to complaints;

 calibration of monitoring equipment;

 Record keeping.

Where supporting activities do not exist, small community water supplies can make
an effort to establish and implement their own programme support activities,
including training and educating appropriate staff and community members,
potentially by collaborating with government officials, local or regional NGOs,
associations of water user committees, local training institutions and other small
communities. The WSP team should contact these organizations for help and
guidance in identifying suitable supporting activities.

Regardless of how sophisticated national and regional policies and programmes

may be, experts from these organizations should, at a minimum, be available and
willing to provide assistance and guidance, even if only on an advisory or ad hoc
basis. Experts could include inspectors, public health professionals, water quality
experts and water resource specialists. Ideally, these experts would be able to
bring to the team’s attention, and help leverage, tools such as grant schemes and
inspection forms.

c) Regularly review the WSP

Periodically, the team should meet to review the WSP and to learn from
experiences and new procedures. The WSP should also be reviewed whenever
there are significant changes in or around the community water supply, including
recent land use changes. The review process is essential to overall implementation
and provides the basis from which future assessments can be made. Periodic
reviews are particularly important in small community water supplies where
capacity is limited and where the objective is to make incremental improvements
over time to achieve national, state and community-based water quality targets or
objectives.

To review the plan, the team should return to Task 1 (Engage the community and
assemble a WSP team) and work through it again. The team should then move
through the other tasks again in order. As the team is not starting from scratch, and
assuming that the initial process was well documented, the tasks should be easier
and take less time to complete.

During the review, it may be helpful to:

 Review and include any new activities or changes in the catchment area,
abstraction, treatment, storage, distribution and consumer components of the
water supply, as applicable. This includes reviewing and updating the water
supply description and map/schematics as needed. New hazards and
associated risks should be incorporated, and previously identified risks should
be updated with additional or new information. The original layout plan shown to
the right, for example, will need to be updated to incorporate any new activities
or changes that have occurred in the water supply since the WSP was first

DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
42
Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module – G for
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

developed.
 Review the improvement schedule. This will need to be updated as
improvements are completed. New information or resources may mean
changing the order of priority for the improvements.
 Review the roles and responsibilities and standard operating procedures. Have
the roles and responsibilities of management or staff changed since the last
review? Have there been personnel changes since the last review? Have there
been any changes in system operation, maintenance, inspection and monitoring
processes and procedures?
 Review available water quality data and any completed sanitary inspection
forms. Are control measures working as planned? Does the risk assessment
need to be updated based on these results?
The WSP should additionally be reviewed following an emergency an incident, or a
near-miss. During this review, the team should consider the following questions:
 What was the cause of the problem?
 How the problem was first identified or recognized?
 What were the essential actions required, and were these carried out?
 What communication problems arose, and how were they addressed?
 What were the immediate and longer-term consequences?
 How well did the emergency procedures function?
 Have these hazardous events highlighted any weaknesses in the WSP, and
how can the team (or the local government) prevent a recurrence of the
problem causing the emergency?
 Has the WSP been updated to reflect the lessons learnt to avoid a similar
problem in the future?

Tips:

 Consider checking with local government, water supply associations and

NGOs for continued training opportunities for operators, plumbers, pump
drivers and community-based maintenance workers, to ensure upgrading of
skills and timely replacement of staff.

 Various forms of mass media can be used to raise the effectiveness of

communication on the WSP in all types of communities. Often posters with
pictures and diagrams, discussions on the local radio and, of course, public
meetings are useful to brief consumers. The WSP team should consider
how to use information, education and communication formats and
consumer relations in the most effective ways to ensure good interaction
between the community and the operators or water user committee.

 Where a community has low literacy levels, pictures and diagrams can be
used to communicate and document management procedures to all
involved in operating and managing the community water supply.

 Following an emergency, an incident or a near-miss, risks should always be

reassessed. The WSP team may need to modify the incremental

DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
43
Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module – G for
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

improvement plan.

 The team may also want to review the process for developing and
implementing the WSP. As mentioned previously, there is no one-size-fits-
all approach to WSPs; hence, each community may need to try its approach
and then review it to ensure that public health is being protected.
 Following the review, the WSP team should ensure that all documentation
and contact lists are up to date and that all staff and operators are informed
about the updated version. A new date for the next review process should
also be scheduled.
Review  What do you understand in document, review and improvement plan?

Session N/A
Attachments

DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
44
 Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module - G
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

Annexes

Annex A: Example of risk assessment and prioritization using the risk ranking approach
Water Possible Hazardous event Control measures Likelihood Consequence Risk Priority for action
supply hazard ranking
system
component
Catchment/ Microbial Cattle and sheep can Unprotected well: no Likely Major High High priority
abstraction pathogens access the well and the control measures in Justification: Access of cattle Justification: Cattle and Justification:
immediate area around place (e.g. no fence, and sheep frequently observed sheep faeces may contain Hazardous event is likely to occur
it, which could result in no Well head by community members; a variety of pathogens, and has major consequences, and
animal faecal matter protection works). animal faeces are visible and which may cause illness in no control measures are in place.
entering the water can easily be washed into well the community. Short and Long-term measures
supply. after heavy rainfall. are required.
Treatment Microbial Gravity-fed water Failsafe device fitted Unlikely Major Medium Attention required; low
pathogens supply continues to flow to the inlet of the Justification: Device confirmed Justification: Untreated risk with appropriate
through the treatment treatment plant, to be effective during power source water is known to operational monitoring
works during power which diverts the failure, tested quarterly to contain a variety of Justification: Exposure to
failures, but will not be water if there is a ensure effectiveness. pathogens that may cause microbial pathogens from the
disinfected. power failure illness in the community water supply is a major concern.
Therefore, special attention
should be given to maintaining the
control measure with appropriate
operational monitoring to ensure
that the likelihood remains low
Treatment Chlorine Chlorine dosing Chlorine dosing is Unlikely Moderate Low No further action is
overdose can result in chlorine flow-paced to ensure Justification: Disinfection unit Justification: Chlorine needed; low risk with
over dose if control is consistent dosing; and online analyser confirmed overdose can cause taste appropriate operational
lost at the treatment online chlorine to be effective and odour problems monitoring
plant. analysers Justification: Hazardous event is
unlikely to occur and has
moderate consequences, and
existing control measures are
adequate
Storage and Microbial Access to water Cover on water Likely Major High High priority
distribution pathogens storage tank could storage tank and Justification: Birds and other Justification: Justification: Hazardous event is
result in bird or other vermin screening small animals have been Bird and other animal likely to occur and has major
animal waste entering over vent piping, previously found in the storage faeces may contain a consequences, and existing
treated water. although cover has tank; animal faeces are visible variety of pathogens that control measure (cover) is

DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
45 45
Version - Draft Printed: 24/02/16 d.consultancy02@gmail.com
 Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module - G
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

Water Possible Hazardous event Control measures Likelihood Consequence Risk Priority for action
supply hazard ranking
system
component
gaps. around the storage tank cover. may cause illness in the inadequate.
community
Storage and Microbial Low-pressure Backflow Unlikely Major Medium Attention required; low
distribution pathogens/ conditions (e.g. during prevention devices Justification: Backflow Justification: risk with appropriate
chemicals mains breaks) can are installed at all Prevention devices have been Backflow from customer operational monitoring
result in backflow from service connections confirmed to be effective systems into the network Justification:
customer can introduce a variety Exposure to microbial pathogens
systems into the of pathogens, resulting in from the water supply is a major
network widespread distribution concern. Therefore, special
of contaminated water attention should be given to
to the community, which maintaining the control measure
may cause illness with appropriate operational
monitoring to ensure that the
likelihood remains low
User Microbial Contamination of None currently in Possible Moderate Medium- or long-term priority
installations pathogens treated water place Justification: Justification: Justification:
in household storage Meetings held with consumers Consequence is for a Hazardous event may occur and
containers as a result of indicate that household storage small percentage of has moderate consequences, and
poor hygiene (e.g. is practiced by some (not the consumers, but could be no control measures are in place
hand dipping of cups majority of) consumers health related
periodically

DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
46 46
Version - Draft Printed: 24/02/16 d.consultancy02@gmail.com
 Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module - G
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

Annex B: Example of Control Measures

Catchment/abstraction Treatment Storage and distribution User installations

■ Establish drinking-water protection ■ Remove microbial contamination ■ Human and vermin contact ■ Remove illegal connections.
zones with land use restrictions (e.g. no through reliable treatment (e.g. with water, particularly at
or limited activities such as agriculture, filtration and disinfection), with service reservoirs and ■ Prevent cross connections
horticulture, wildlife, swimming, boating, adequate capacity. tanks, through, for
industrial discharge). example, good roofing of ■ And backflow into the
■ Apply proven and reliable treatment
water storage, adequate system.
■ Reduce use of herbicides, fertilizers and to bring chemical hazards of direct
security (e.g. fences, locks
chemicals within catchments, and only health concern (e.g. arsenic,
on gates and hatches), ■ Institutional and home
use those that are approved. fluoride) and those with an impact
insect proof screens on installations are carried out
on taste, odour and appearance of
■ Train farmers on appropriate use of vents and overflow pipes. by recognized or certified
drinking water (e.g. iron,
herbicides, fertilizers and chemicals in plumbers.
manganese, turbidity and alkalinity) ■ Ensure that inlet and outlet
agriculture and horticulture.
within acceptable limits.
■ pipes are at varying ■ Educate consumers about
■ Establish natural “buffer strips” around
■ Note: if available, chemical heights proper hygiene and safe
reservoirs, rivers and streams to
removal processes should be water storage practices
minimize erosion and runoff ■ on opposite ends of service
certified for use by a relevant
contamination. reservoir, and ensure good
national authority. Even then, fine- ■ Inform consumers on point-
mixing.
■ Prevent roaming of domestic animals tuning of treatment for chemical of-use treatment options
near the source water (e.g. fence). removal may require expert advice ■ Regular cleaning, where applicable (e.g.
to ensure proper performance. inspection and boiling, filtration,
■ Switch to alternative water source(s)
maintenance of storage Chlorination).
when something goes wrong (e.g. ■ Maximize removal of organic
tanks.
occurrence of algal bloom in reservoir) material prior to chlorine addition to
■ Distribute educational
or when a natural contaminant (e.g. limit disinfection by-product ■ Flush washouts in tanks
materials about safe
fluoride) is difficult to remove). formation. and pipelines regularly.
rainwater collection
■ For spring catchments: Construct a ■ Consider prohibiting treatment ■ Use only materials and practices (e.g. first-flush
safe collection chamber and a proper chemicals that result in taste and pipes approved for contact systems, tank cleaning).
overflow with elbow or tee. odour problems (but only if such with drinking-water.
actions do not compromise the
DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
47 47
Version - Draft Printed: 24/02/16 d.consultancy02@gmail.com
 Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module - G
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

Catchment/abstraction Treatment Storage and distribution User installations

■ For surface water abstraction: Install microbial safety of the
water ■ Check and replace
and maintain screens and sediment supply). unsuitable materials (e.g.
traps. ■ Ensure purity of chemicals added lead-jointed or lead service
to water, including checking expiry pipes, bitumen lined
■ For all abstraction points (e.g. spring
dates. mains).
boxes, wells, boreholes, streams):
o Prohibit latrines and fix leaky septic ■ Ensure proper storage and ■ Aggressive water (low pH)
availability of chemicals (i.e. stocks may force use of other
tanks in the vicinity of the
do not run out). construction materials and
abstraction area. Regular cleaning,
plumbing.
inspection and maintenance. ■ Chlorinate to ensure residual
■ For wells/boreholes: Slope the ground chlorine in the distribution network, ■ Maintain disinfectant
including in the service reservoir. residual throughout
away from wellheads to prevent
distribution system.
contamination by runoff. ■ Backwash filters at regular intervals
■ For rainwater catchment: Design with to avoid excessive pressure and ■ Maintain constant positive
particle breakthrough. pressure in the distribution
proper filter, first-flush mechanism and
system to minimize
mosquito-safe tank. ■ Prevent recycling of filter or opportunities for
■ In designed operational areas, consider backwash water. contaminant ingress.
fire breaks, designated roads and tracks ■ Install duty and standby dosing
■ Repair leaks to minimize
(to abstraction areas), adequate pumps to prevent treatment opportunities for
drainage and waste facilities, disruption during equipment failure. contaminant ingress.
containment and bounded areas (e.g.
for chemical storage). ■ Shut off treatment plant and switch ■ Prevent backflow into the
to alternative water source or system.
■ Arrange for legal right to source use and treatment when something goes
abstraction. wrong. ■ Minimize dead ends in
water pipes.
■ Enforce local by-laws on hygiene, ■ Backup power supplies to maintain
sanitation and public health. essential treatment functions during ■ Enforce plumbing codes,
power outages. standards and licensing
■ Perform regular cleaning,
inspection and maintenance of
DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
48 48
Version - Draft Printed: 24/02/16 d.consultancy02@gmail.com
Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module - G
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

Catchment/abstraction Treatment Storage and distribution User installations

treatment installations and
infrastructures.
■ Ensure that treatment plant
operators are trained and meet
established minimum competency
standards.

DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
49 49
Version - Draft Printed: 24/02/16 d.consultancy02@gmail.com
 Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module - G
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

Annex C: Checklist for conducting a WSP

No. Descriptions Yes No.
Has a multi-disciplinary team of experts been assembled to carry out the water
1
safety plan?
2 Has the team been informed of their duties and commitment?
Has the water treatment system been described?
3
(i.e. has each step in the system been considered for range and magnitude of
hazards that may be present, and the ability of existing processes and
infrastructure to manage actual or potential risks)
Following the description of the system above, has all the information been
4
documented?
Has a flow diagram of the entire water supply system been constructed using
5
the symbol chart?
6 Have existing, as well as potential., hazards in the system been identified
Have these hazards been prioritized using the hazard assessment matrix
7
provided?
Are there any control measures in place to reduce/eliminate the hazards?
8
Is there a system in place to monitor the control measures?
9
Have corrective actions been identified for each control measure, especially if
10
the control measure fails?
Are there procedures in place to verify that the WSP is working effectively and
11
will meet the health-based targets?
Have supporting programmes been developed to ensure that health based
12
targets will be met?
Have management procedures been prepared to respond to “normal” and
13
“incident” conditions?
Has all the relevant information regarding the water supply system been
14
documented?
(i.e. description and assessment of the system, plan for operational monitoring,
plan for verification of drinking water system, management procedures, etc.)
Have communication procedures been established?
15
(i.e. general information on water quality through the media, annual reports and
on the internet, procedures for promptly advising of any significant incidents,
mechanisms to receive and actively address community complaints, etc.)
Has the WSP been reviewed at the following stages?
16
Annually

After an incident

After any significant change to the water supply

In response to finding a weakness in the plan

Additional information regarding the system is received that might warrant a

revised risk level for that system

DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
Version - Draft Printed: 24/02/16 d.consultancy02@gmail.com
50
 Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module - G
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

Annex D: Risk Assessment Form

Section A: Description of Water Supply Schemes

Item - 1

Name of Schemes

Type of Schemes: HDW SW BH Spring Others

Location Kebele: Village:

Woreda: Zone:

Region:

Year of Construction

Name of WaSHCOs

Name of Caretaker

GPS Coordinate

Item - 2

Diagram of the supply

Provide a flow diagram showing the inter-relationships and various components of the supply
source, treatment process and distribution system from the catchment to the consumer. The
diagram should include:
immediate catchment
wider catchment
collection point/s
treatment processes used
and major distribution pipe work (i.e. pumps, storage systems, pipelines)

Item - 3
In the sections that follow, an evaluation of the system is conducted in order to determine if any
hazards exist or if any hazardous events are likely to occur. The hazard assessment matrix
shown in Table 1.3 above is a guide to scoring the existing risks that could make water unsafe
(i.e. cause a deterioration in water quality) and should be referred to throughout the evaluation.
rating of 0.8 x 70 = 56, which would be ranked higher than an event with a likelihood of 0.2 and
a consequence of 2 and a risk rating of 0.2 x 2 = 0.4.

DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
Version - Draft Printed: 24/02/16 d.consultancy02@gmail.com
51
 Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module - G
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

A higher score implies that a bigger risk of a hazardous event occurring exists and should
therefore be prioritized. A risk profile is given below:
Risk Profile: LOW – 0-10

MEDIUM – 11-56

HIGH – 57-100

Section B: EVALUATION OF CATCHMENT AND RAW WATER SOURCE

Name of Catchment
Name of Raw Water Supply
Source
Location of the Source

(Mark with a cross where applicable)

What Source of
HDW SW Deep Spring River others
Water Is Used? Well

Name of caretaker

Address

GPS Coordinate

Is the water Upstream Agricultural/ Sewer Surface Recreational Other

source Industries Livestock systems Faecal use by the
(Specify)
vulnerable to (list) farms such as run-off community
Contamination leaking
from the septic
following? tanks, etc.

Zoning Secure Locked Limits on Other

fencing gates agriculture (Specify)
Indicate which of the (e.g.
source water protection phosphorous,
plans exist? pesticides)

DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
Version - Draft Printed: 24/02/16 d.consultancy02@gmail.com
52
 Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity Training Module - G
Operation and Maintenance Management Manual Rural Water Safety Plan

Is The Quantity Of The

Water Source Sufficient Yes No
For The Community?

DEMEWOZ CONSULTANCY
Version - Draft Printed: 24/02/16 d.consultancy02@gmail.com
53