Publicação
Public policies in the water sector: water safety plans as tools for risk assessment
| Resumo: | Water supply is a structural and irreplaceable service, essential for sustainable development, thus determinant in environmental preservation, the promotion of public health, good pursuit of economic activities and an important indicator of quality of life of populations. It is a service provided under a natural monopoly regime, which must comply with the principles of universality, continuity, efficiency, price equity and adequacy in quantity and quality. In fact, in 2010 the United Nations (UN) General Assembly declared access to safe drinking water and sanitation a human right, essential to the full enjoyment of life and all other human rights. Five years later, in 2015, a collection of 17 global goals was set in the UN 2030 Agenda – the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – leading countries around the world to express strong political will to ensure drinking water is universally safe, as acknowledged in SDG 6 – Clean Water and Sanitation. In this context, it is imperative to safeguard the continuous improvement of all processes and practices performed by water utilities aiming to ensure water quality for all and, for that matter, Water Safety Plans (WSPs) represent an important and strategic tool linked to public policies in the water supply sector. Because of the perspective of its mandatory application and the impact that it may represent on water utilities, namely in terms of governance, this dissertation intends to investigate three major dimensions related to the implementation of this methodology, performed through scientific articles. First, we reviewed the international evidences of the adoption and implementation of WSPs in water utilities all over the world and the lessons to be learned from those several WSPs experiments documented in empirical studies. This knowledge was relevant when drafting the new legislation in Portugal as part of the necessary adjustment of the national legal framework related to the approval of the Directive (EU) 2015/1787, on water quality for human consumption. There are many challenges associated with implementing a new mandatory risk assessment methodology such as a WSP, not only regarding the operational perspective and all technical options, but also in terms of governance issues and this first study identified four critical components in developing and implementing a WSP: commitment at all levels of the organization, technical knowledge, governance arrangements, and interagency collaboration. These items are critical to the success of WSPs implementation and it was possible to obtain very relevant guidelines for application by national water utilities. The second study aimed to learn about the factors that influenced the voluntary adoption of WSPs by water utilities in Portugal, prior to the change of the national regulatory framework. EU Directive 2015/1787 mandates the implementation of a risk assessment process for all water utilities and the strategic approach of WSPs is decisive for that purpose. More specifically, the scope meant to explore whether the governance arrangement of water utilities affects the likelihood of adoption of a WSP. The results suggest that water utilities run by in-house bureaucracies are less expected to adopt WSPs, meaning they may have extra difficulties when facing the mandatory implementation of such a methodology and may need additional guidance. The dimension is also a relevant factor as utilities serving above 50 000 residents or 10 000 m3/d are more prone to adopt WSPs. Moreover, water utilities with quality management systems are more predisposed for the adoption of WSPs. All these findings point to the importance of technical skills and previous experience dealing with formal procedures by water utilities as key determinants in the adoption of WSPs. In a context of growing external uncertainties arising from changes in the climate and the environment, ensuring water quality for all is a growing concern and studying this issue would allow to learn about the impacts of climate change on water quality modification and the new public policies to deal with the related problems. Adaptive changes are already taking place, and others are expected to be compulsory, namely legal requirements for water quality parameters, the adjustment of treatment processes and the implementation of new approaches, explicitly risk assessment strategies. WSPs are regarded as part of the solution, contributing to minimize climate change impacts on water utilities and, inherently, on water quality. But, are climate change concerns an input considered in updating Water Safety Plans? The third study investigated the adjustments made over time to WSPs of an upstream system comprising a pioneer multi-municipal system in the implementation of a risk assessment strategy and of a downstream system in Portugal. Results show that the WSPs of both water utilities are being amended in response to new public policies and new regulations are being designed to mitigate climate changes. Even though presenting different strategies, both aim and embody a similar output. |
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| Autores principais: | Roeger, Alexandra Suzana Abreu de Faria Carvalho |
| Assunto: | Climate changes Risk assessment Water public policies Water quality Water safety plans Water sector Water utilities Alterações climáticas Avaliação de riscos Planos de segurança da água Políticas públicas no setor das águas Qualidade da água Setor das águas |
| Ano: | 2021 |
| País: | Portugal |
| Tipo de documento: | tese de doutoramento |
| Tipo de acesso: | acesso aberto |
| Instituição associada: | Universidade do Minho |
| Idioma: | português |
| Origem: | RepositóriUM - Universidade do Minho |
| Resumo: | Water supply is a structural and irreplaceable service, essential for sustainable development, thus determinant in environmental preservation, the promotion of public health, good pursuit of economic activities and an important indicator of quality of life of populations. It is a service provided under a natural monopoly regime, which must comply with the principles of universality, continuity, efficiency, price equity and adequacy in quantity and quality. In fact, in 2010 the United Nations (UN) General Assembly declared access to safe drinking water and sanitation a human right, essential to the full enjoyment of life and all other human rights. Five years later, in 2015, a collection of 17 global goals was set in the UN 2030 Agenda – the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – leading countries around the world to express strong political will to ensure drinking water is universally safe, as acknowledged in SDG 6 – Clean Water and Sanitation. In this context, it is imperative to safeguard the continuous improvement of all processes and practices performed by water utilities aiming to ensure water quality for all and, for that matter, Water Safety Plans (WSPs) represent an important and strategic tool linked to public policies in the water supply sector. Because of the perspective of its mandatory application and the impact that it may represent on water utilities, namely in terms of governance, this dissertation intends to investigate three major dimensions related to the implementation of this methodology, performed through scientific articles. First, we reviewed the international evidences of the adoption and implementation of WSPs in water utilities all over the world and the lessons to be learned from those several WSPs experiments documented in empirical studies. This knowledge was relevant when drafting the new legislation in Portugal as part of the necessary adjustment of the national legal framework related to the approval of the Directive (EU) 2015/1787, on water quality for human consumption. There are many challenges associated with implementing a new mandatory risk assessment methodology such as a WSP, not only regarding the operational perspective and all technical options, but also in terms of governance issues and this first study identified four critical components in developing and implementing a WSP: commitment at all levels of the organization, technical knowledge, governance arrangements, and interagency collaboration. These items are critical to the success of WSPs implementation and it was possible to obtain very relevant guidelines for application by national water utilities. The second study aimed to learn about the factors that influenced the voluntary adoption of WSPs by water utilities in Portugal, prior to the change of the national regulatory framework. EU Directive 2015/1787 mandates the implementation of a risk assessment process for all water utilities and the strategic approach of WSPs is decisive for that purpose. More specifically, the scope meant to explore whether the governance arrangement of water utilities affects the likelihood of adoption of a WSP. The results suggest that water utilities run by in-house bureaucracies are less expected to adopt WSPs, meaning they may have extra difficulties when facing the mandatory implementation of such a methodology and may need additional guidance. The dimension is also a relevant factor as utilities serving above 50 000 residents or 10 000 m3/d are more prone to adopt WSPs. Moreover, water utilities with quality management systems are more predisposed for the adoption of WSPs. All these findings point to the importance of technical skills and previous experience dealing with formal procedures by water utilities as key determinants in the adoption of WSPs. In a context of growing external uncertainties arising from changes in the climate and the environment, ensuring water quality for all is a growing concern and studying this issue would allow to learn about the impacts of climate change on water quality modification and the new public policies to deal with the related problems. Adaptive changes are already taking place, and others are expected to be compulsory, namely legal requirements for water quality parameters, the adjustment of treatment processes and the implementation of new approaches, explicitly risk assessment strategies. WSPs are regarded as part of the solution, contributing to minimize climate change impacts on water utilities and, inherently, on water quality. But, are climate change concerns an input considered in updating Water Safety Plans? The third study investigated the adjustments made over time to WSPs of an upstream system comprising a pioneer multi-municipal system in the implementation of a risk assessment strategy and of a downstream system in Portugal. Results show that the WSPs of both water utilities are being amended in response to new public policies and new regulations are being designed to mitigate climate changes. Even though presenting different strategies, both aim and embody a similar output. |
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