Memorandum of Understanding
The present Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) indicates a voluntary agreement for the purpose of becoming part of the transnational network UNAS (Users Network ADRION water Safety plan) within the Interreg ADRION “Multihazard framework for water related risks management” (MUHA) project.
Each participant indicates the willingness to support the implementation of the Water Safety Plan (WPS) in the Adriatic and Ionic (ADRION) region through the sharing of the knowhow and experience on risk assessment. In particular, the users of the UNAS forum will support the implementation and diffusion of the toolkit for WAter Safety Planning Procedures Decision Support System (WASPP – DSS) and WAter Safety Planning Procedures Educational toolbox (WASPP –ET) developed during the framework of the MUHA project.
The UNAS network will be open to each participant who has experience or interest in WSP implementation and risk management, through an online registration. When indicating the username, it is strongly suggested to indicate the role and/or the position in order to facilitate the understanding of the skills and competencies.
Information safety – parties agree that the UNAS system should not include any specific information relative to GDPR regulation (EU 2016/679) and the safety of water supply systems as critical infrastructure (EU Directive 2008/114).
Obligations of the parties: The users and administrators of the UNAS forum, as well as EU Adrion Interreg Transboundary cooperation program, have no responsibility regarding the quality of the provided information and the consequences of the usage of the information provided or shared by the UNAS forum. The use of the UNAS form is free of charge. Users breaching the general principles
Intellectual rights and possession: the administrators and users of the UNAS forum do not ensure the protection of intellectual rights. Any user should self-restrict himself regarding the sharing of information for which he/she considers that may be related to the protection of intellectual rights.
Be Civil: Please respect people with differing views. No insults, name calling or inflamed speech. Personal one-on-one arguments, disagreements or personality conflicts are not appropriate on this discussion forum. Users not following this ethic will be omitted from the UNAS forum.
This MOU will remain in effect until the end of the UNAS network which is expected to assist the implementation of the WPS in the region, ensuring a resilient and safe water supply for each citizen.
This draft water safety plan was generated with the help of Muha Project tool http://muha.apps.vokas.si
You can export identified hazards with initial risk assessment either to MS Word or MS Excel document, where you can further elaborate your work.
The tool will allow you to browse a catalogue of hazards fitted to your water supply system. You will have to define the WSS components and assess the risks from the catalogue that are triggered by those components. The tool creates a convenient start for modules 2 and 3.
The hazards identified by the tool can be exported to MS Word or MS Excel documents.
Hazard: A chemical, physical or microbial agent that can cause harm to public health
Hazardous event: An event or situation that introduces hazards to, or fails to remove them from the water supply.
Risk: the likelihood that a hazardous event will occur combined with the severity of its consequences.
Key actions include:
The description of the hazardous event should be specific, clearly describing what can happen to the water supply system and how it can happen (i.e. cause and effect).
The risk associated with each hazardous event should be assessed to distinguish between significant and less significant risks.
Important distinction – This first (or ‘initial’) risk assessment does not consider any preventative control measures that are already in place. Consideration of existing control measures in the risk assessment takes place in Module 4.
Ensure that the WSP is up-to-date and effective through regular review and, if necessary, revision. This will ensure that new risks threatening the production and supply of safe drinking-water are regularly assessed and addressed and that the WSP is continuously improved. Examples of events that may trigger a review of the WSP include new activities in the catchment, new water supply system infrastructure and updates to improvement/upgrade plans.
Key actions include:
For more information and guidelines refer to Water Safety Plan Manual (World Health Organization)
Develop supporting programmes that contribute to drinking-water safety. Examples of supporting programmes include operator training and development, consumer education and research and development.
Key actions include:
For more information and guidelines refer to Water Safety Plan Manual (World Health Organization)
Document management procedures to be followed during normal conditions, incident situations and emergencies. This typically includes both standard operating procedures (SOPs) for key operational activities and emergency response plans.
For more information and guidelines refer to Water Safety Plan Manual (World Health Organization)
Review and revise the WSP to reflect lessons learned from incidents and near misses. Consideration should be given to the cause of the incident, emergency or near miss and the adequacy of the response. This information should feedback into the revision of the WSP as part of continuous improvement.
Key actions include:
For more information and guidelines refer to Water Safety Plan Manual (World Health Organization)
Develop, implement and maintain a detailed improvement/upgrade plan to address all significant risks that require additional control. Generally, some improvements can be implemented immediately at little or no cost, while other improvements may require significant resources and more time to implement. Improvement/upgrade plans should allow for “incremental improvement” i.e. step-by-step improvements in risk management, to allow time for planning and for the necessary funding to become available.
Important distinction – Module 5 focuses on documenting new or additional control measures that are required, whereas Module 4 focuses on existing control measures that are already in place.
Key actions include
For more information and guidelines refer to Water Safety Plan Manual (World Health Organization)
Develop and implement operational monitoring plans to ensure the control measures continue to work effectively.
Operational monitoring: Routine monitoring performed to confirm that control measures are working to protect water safety at key steps along the water supply chain.
Important distinction – operational monitoring (Module 6) is different from verification monitoring (Module 7). Operational monitoring determines if individual control measures are operating effectively, whereas verification monitoring looks at the WSP as a whole, to determine if it is working effectively to provide a safe and reliable drinking-water supply.
For more information and guidelines refer to Water Safety Plan Manual (World Health Organization)