Water safety plans. Hazard study and risk assessment of a water supply system in Bizkaia. Application to the water catchment stage

Abstract

The best way to guarantee a safe and high quality water supply is to establish a control and management plan for the water supply system that focuses on risk prevention. In this study, the methodology and analytical steps established in the Water Safety Plan Manual (WHO) and the Guide to the Control and Management of Water Supply Systems (Autonomous Government of the Basque Country) were used to carry out hazard and risk assessment in a water supply system in Bizkaia. Although the application has only been carried out in the water catchment stage, it has already provided information about the benefits, as well as the problems encountered. Therefore, from the results obtained, it can be seen that this methodology is clearly effective for determining risks that had passed unnoticed, and for establishing new control measures. It also demonstrates the importance of co-operation between the bodies not directly related to the operation of the water supply system.