Xinhua: The World Health Organization (WHO) launched its updated edition of drinking water guidelines here on Monday to push water suppliers to systematically manage the potential risk of contaminants entering water, from the catchment to the consumer. The WHO said the new guidelines, launched at the Singapore International Water Week, can help governments strengthen their management of drinking water quality by adopting water safety planning."Countries have an opportunity to make substantial public health progress by setting and applying effective and appropriate standards for ensuring safe water," said Maria Neira, WHO director of public environment and health.
The guidelines, which have been the most authoritative framework on drinking-water quality and often form the basis for national laws and regulations, requires "a paradigm shift in drinking-water management for many countries," WHO said.
"Shifting to a primary prevention approach is more effective, costs less, and gives us the flexibility to deal with new pressures threatening water safety such as climate change, population growth, and urbanization," Neira said.
The new guidelines contained comprehensive good practice recommendations for the first time at different levels, from household rainwater harvesting and safe storage through to policy advice on bulk water supply and the implications of climate change....
Drinking water, shot by Alex Anlicker, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license
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