Implementation of water safety plan for a large-piped watersupply system

Anisha Nijhawan & Priyanka Jain &

Aabha Sargaonkar & Pawan Kumar Labhasetwar

Received: 31 August 2013 /Accepted: 30 April 2014# Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014

Abstract Awater safety plan for the city of Nagpur wasdeveloped by the National Environmental EngineeringResearch Institute (NEERI) and Nagpur MunicipalCorporation (NMC). Possible hazards were identifiedthrough field visits. Based on this, an improvement planwas drawn up to suggest corrective actions and a timeframe for implementation. The findings of this study arebeing used to modify or repair components of the watersupply system and upgrade management procedures.This paper highlights the lessons learnt during imple-mentation of the WSP and the key challenges faced.

Keywords Contamination . Drinking water .

Intermittentwater supply .Risk assessment .Water safety

AbbreviationsCFU Colony-forming unitESR Elevated service reservoir

GI Galvanized ironGIS Geographic Information SystemsGSR Ground level service reservoirHACCP Hazard analysis critical control pointHDPE High-density polyethyleneMBR Master balancing reservoirMDPE Medium-density poly ethyleneMLD Million liters per dayMPN Most probable numberNEERI National Environmental Engineering

Research InstituteNGO Non-government organizationNMC Nagpur Municipal CorporationNRW Non-revenue waterSOP Standard operating procedureTDS Total dissolved solidsWHO-SEARO World Health Organization South

East Asia Regional OfficeWSP Water safety planWTP Water treatment plant

Introduction

The World Health Organization (WHO) Guidelines forDrinking Water Quality (Third Edition) describe watersafety plans (WSPs) as the most effective means ofensuring the safety of a drinking water supply (WHO2004). This concept draws from traditional multiple-barrier risk management techniques and the hazard anal-ysis critical control point (HACCP) approach, which has

Environ Monit AssessDOI 10.1007/s10661-014-3802-x

A. Nijhawan : P. Jain : P. K. Labhasetwar (*)Water Technology & Management Division, NationalEnvironmental Engineering Research Institute,Nagpur, Indiae-mail: pk_labhasetwar@neeri.res.in

A. Nijhawane-mail: anishanijhawan@gmail.com

P. Jaine-mail: priyanka.envt@gmail.com

A. SargaonkarEnvironmental Systems Design & Modelling Division,National Environmental Engineering Research Institute,Nagpur, Indiae-mail: ap_sargaonkar@neeri.res.in

been applied in the food manufacturing industry forseveral decades (Davison et al. 2005). Havelaar (1994)proposed that the HACCP approach could be applied todrinking water systems. Since then, it has been used bywater utilities in the USA (Barry et al. 1998), Australia(Deere and Davison 1998), Iceland (Gunnarsdóttir andGissurarson 2008) and Switzerland (SWGIA 2003). Casestudies document increased compliance with drinkingwater quality regulations (Gunnarsdóttir andGissurarson 2006) and reduced cost of operation(Davison et al. 2005) as a result of implementingHACCP. The WSP approach has been developed basedon these experiences.

Developing a WSP involves undertaking risk assess-ment and identifying hazards at each step of the drinkingwater supply from catchment to consumer (WHO2004). Over the last decade, WSPs have gained accep-tance as an important framework for achieving waterquality and health-based targets. WSPs can be devel-oped for any type of water supply system, piped- orcommunity-based. Public water utilities in Australia,UK, Latin America and the Caribbean (Bartram et al.2009), Bangladesh (Mahmud et al. 2007) and Uganda(Howard et al. 2005) have successfully developed andimplemented WSPs for their water supply systems.

Until now the experience with WSPs in developingcountries is limited to small systems serving less than amillion people (Howard et al. 2005; Mahmud et al.2007). Davison et al. (2005) suggested a set of ‘modelwater safety plans’ for common water supplytechnologies used in small systems in developingcountries. Godfrey and Howard (2004) documentedthe WSP approach with certain alterations to overcomethe challenges likely to be faced in developing countries.

In this paper, a case study of implementing aWSP fora large piped-water supply in a developing country ispresented. Urban water supply in India is characterizedby intermittent supply, high rates of non-revenue water(NRW) and poor maintenance. Due to ageing infrastruc-ture and inefficient operation of the water supply sys-tem, municipal water works’ departments in cities arenot able to prevent water losses, especially within thedistribution network. This causes an imbalance betweenthe supply and demand of water, thus leading to inter-mittent supply hours. Past research has shown that watersupply coverage in 28 cities ranged from 9.3 to 99.5 %;NRW was from 6 to 72.9 % and continuity of supplyvaried from 0.5 to 18 h a day (MoUD 2009). Watersamples from only 39 out of 423 cities qualified all three

tests conducted to check water quality in the household:turbidity, residual chlorine and thermo-tolerant coli-forms (MoSPI 2010).

Methodology

Study area

Nagpur is the largest city in Central India (Fig. 1a), witha population of about 2.5 million (Ministry of HomeAffairs 2011). Nagpur serves as an example for under-standing the challenges in implementing the WSP in acomplex water distribution system with an intermittentwater supply. There are a large number of unregisteredconnections and low cost recovery. The drinking watersupply system in Nagpur City is managed by the WaterWorks Department of Nagpur Municipal Corporation(NMC). It is responsible for operating water treatmentplants and the storage and distribution of drinking water.

The city is divided into ten administrative zones forease of operation and maintenance of infrastructurefacilities such as water supply and waste collection aswell as for the purpose of local governance. Two zones,zone 2 (Laxminagar) and zone 4 (Dhantoli), were se-lected for this study (Fig. 1b). These zones have a wideeconomic parity within the community from high- tolow-income households.

Development plan

The approach for developing the WSP was based on theguidance of WHO experts and the Water Safety PlanManual (Bartram et al. 2009). The approach was modi-fied to deal with specific problems found in the Nagpurdrinking water supply system such as intermittent supply,limited data availability, unplanned development andlack of consumer awareness. The present study attemptsto develop a WSP that addresses these challenges bymodifying certain steps and putting increased focus onsupporting programmes and the role of NGOs. However,these issues are common to several developing countries.Therefore, the information presented in this paper couldprove useful to practitioners facing similar challenges.

Formation of the WSP team

The WSP team consisted of officials from a researchagency (NEERI), the local municipal authority (NMC)

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a

b

Fig. 1 a Location of Nagpur City. b Water supply zones of Nagpur City (source: NMC Water Works Department)

Environ Monit Assess

and an NGO. The support of local authorities was re-quired for collection of baseline water quality data,maintenance of water distribution network and impro-visation to the existing systems.

System assessment

Figure 2 shows the schematic of Nagpur water supplywhich includes three raw water sources, five watertreatment plants (WTPs), three master balancing reser-voirs (MBRs) and forty-three service reservoirs—ele-vated (ESRs) and ground level (GSRs). In all, theWTPssupply 513 MLD water through 2,100 km of pipeline to225,000 metered connections.

The study area (zones 2 and 4) receives treated waterfrom each of the fiveWTPs through twoMBRs and fiveESRs. Baseline assessment of water quality data wascarried out in March 2011 by collecting samples fromraw water sources, WTP intake points, WTP outlets,

MBRs and ESRs. Sample collection methods given inBIS (1991) were followed. Samples were tested andanalysed for pH, TDS, hardness and faecal coliformsaccording to standard methods (APHA et al. 2005).Water quality data records for the previous 3 years werealso analysed.

Additionally, a household sanitary survey was con-ducted in 97 randomly selected households in fourlocalities in the study area. The survey locations aredescribed in Table 1. The survey study was designedbased on the criteria for safe storage given by the Centrefor Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and theInternational Scientific Forum on Home Hygiene(IFH) (CDC 2003; Nath et al. 2006).

Hazard identification

Hazard identificationwas done for the catchment area, rawwater sources, water treatment plant and distribution

Fig. 2 Schematic of Nagpur water supply system

Environ Monit Assess

network to household storage conditions. Hazard identifi-cation for the catchment, raw water sources and treatmentplants can be elucidated easily; however, hazard identifi-cation in the distribution network and household is morecomplex. Hazards within the catchment area were identi-fied based on the visits by theWSP team to each rawwatersource, land use patterns and satellite images. Hazardswithin the treatment plant were identified with the helpof treatment plant operators and NMC officials.Likelihood and consequences for each identified hazardwere determined based on the visits, prior experience andprevious available data.

Within the distribution network, hazards were iden-tified by reviewing the condition of pipes, MBRs andESRs, maintenance schedules and experiences of thefield engineers and maintenance personnel. The com-plete distribution network was mapped using GIS. Zone2 has been represented in two maps owing to its size(Fig. 3a, b), while zone 4 is represented in Fig. 3c. Paststudies have stressed the importance of risk mapping inassessing variability in the nature of hazards within thedistribution network (Howard et al. 2005). These mapshelped to identify ‘high risk’ points where contamina-tion may occur due to crisscrossing of water pipes withsewer lines or open drains due to improper layout.

A household sanitary survey was also carried out todetermine common water handling practices and whateffect these have, if any, on water quality post-collection. Information about occurrence of water-borne diseases was also collected. Tap and stored watersamples were collected to monitor residual chlorinelevels and identify risk of microbial contamination inthe household. Presence of faecal coliform was deter-mined by membrane filtration test using m-FC agar. Thehousehold samples were analysed for physico-chemicalparameters using standard methods (APHA et al. 2005).

Risk assessment

A risk matrix was developed based on the semi-quantitative risk prioritization approach (Deere et al.

2001). The likelihood and consequence of each hazardwas identified based on field visits, expert opinion, pub-lished records and experience of the field engineers andoperators. Each hazard was scored according to the like-lihood of occurrence and consequence in terms of health-based targets and compliance with regulations as de-scribed in Table 2. Residual risk score was generatedbased on individual scores and existing control measures.

Identification and validation of control measures

Control measures are steps taken to ensure that thequality of water in the distribution system consistentlymeets targets (WHO 2004). Site visits were conductedto identify existing control measures and to assess theeffectiveness of the implemented control measures ofthe water supply system. The validation of the controlmeasures was done by reviewing the maintenance andmonitoring records and field inspections. Water sampleswere also analysed to determine the effectiveness of theimplemented control measures. Samples were collectedfrom the inlet and outlet of each water treatment plant,outlet of each MBR and ESR and randomly selectedhouseholds from each zone. The parameters tested werepH, TDS, hardness and faecal coliform count (Table 3).

The residual risk score was calculated based on thefindings from the validation of control measures. In thefinal risk assessment matrix, risks were categorized interms of their potential impact on the performance of thewater supply system and its capacity to deliver safedrinking water.

Improvement plan

An improvement plan was drawn up to address residualrisks. The plan included risks that scored extreme (score>20), very high (score 15–20) and high (score 10–15)on the risk band. The less significant risks (medium andlow risk) were not specifically addressed in the plan asthese would be eliminated once the control measures formore significant risks are implemented.

Table 1 Locations of householdsampling and sanitary survey Location Water supply zone Samples collected Socio-economic status

Gopal Nagar Zone 2 25 Low- to middle-income area

Rahul Nagar Zone 2 28 Low-income area

Rambagh Zone 4 24 Slum area

Reshimbagh Zone 4 20 Low- to middle-income area

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a

b

Fig. 3 a High-risk points in northern part of zone 2. b High-risk points in southern part of zone 2. c High-risk points in zone 4

Environ Monit Assess

Results and discussion

Hazard identification and risk assessment

Hazards identification and risk assessment was done foreach component within the water supply system and iselucidated in the following section.

Catchment area and raw water source

Table 4 shows the list of potential hazards in the catch-ment area of the source water. These hazards includeexisting as well as potential hazards based on futuregrowth and development of the areas in and aroundthe raw water source. These hazards exist due to pre-vailing anthropogenic activities around the vicinity ofthe raw water source. Rainfall runoff is contaminateddue to these activities, resulting in the potential contam-ination of the source water.

Other anthropogenic sources include discharge ofwastewater from human habitations and overflow ofash pond from a thermal power plant into KanhanRiver which is a major raw water source. This is a result

of inadequate planning during the city’s development andunauthorised construction within the catchment area.

The challenge in controlling contamination of rawwater sources is enhanced due to social, cultural andreligious aspects prevalent in the region. Use of waterbodies for religious activities like idol immersions iscommon in Nagpur City. Enforcing control measuresor corrective actions to restrict the use of water bodiesfor such activities is a challenge and would be unaccept-able to consumers. Implementing any such measurewithout involving the local community in the completedecision process would be ineffective.

The potential change in the risk due to implemen-tation of corrective action for each hazard is alsolisted in Table 4.

Water treatment plants

In Table 5, selected hazards identified in the watertreatment plants by the WSP team are described. TheWSP team reviewed the procedures followed at all thefive treatment plants. Kanhan treatment plant andPench— I & III treatment plants were found to be

c

Fig. 3 (continued)

Environ Monit Assess

operating as per standard operating procedure (SOP)and no major risks were identified. However, onlinemonitoring system was not operational at Kanhan treat-ment plant. This increases the risk of not identifyingchanges in the quality of water being supplied to thecommunity.

The maintenance of older water treatment plantsposes a key challenge. This was observed at Pench—IIand Old Gorewada treatment plants where, due to lackof maintenance, all the processes were severely ham-pered. This also leads to lack of proper monitoring of thewater quality being supplied. The lack of attention bythe local authorities and improper maintenance by thecontractors responsible for the maintaining the treatmentplant pose an extremely high physical, chemical andmicrobiological risk.

Distribution network

The highest number of uncontrolled risks was identifiedin the distribution network as shown in Table 6. Priorstudies have shown deterioration in water quality in theNagpur distribution network with an increase in thermo-

tolerant coliform colony forming units (CFU) fromWTPs to consumer (Elala et al. 2011). The present studyalso identified risks due to post-treatment contamina-tion. A number of hazardous events were found to occurdue to low pressure created in the pipes as a result ofintermittent supply. Extreme risk was identified in thedistribution network because of cross contamination dueto the presence of sewer lines in the vicinity of thedrinking water pipeline. Rapid and unplanned develop-ment of the city has resulted in the construction of thedrinking water distribution network without conformingto planning regulations. The WSP team observed manyevents where the water quality had degraded due to thepresence of broken sewer lines. Another event that posesa high risk to water quality is the ingress of foreignmatter due to bursting and corrosion of pipes. Thesehazards are a source of physical, chemical and microbialcontamination of drinking water.

Households

Findings of the household sanitary survey are shown inTable 7. Storage vessels designed for dipping, use ofshort/no handle for extraction (locally called lota), use ofstorage vessels made of non-durable material and lack ofpoint-of-use treatment were among the significant risks.The most common risk of recontamination comes fromthe water handling and storage practices of the usersthemselves. Even if the tap water supplied by the author-ities is free from contamination, it gets recontaminated asa result of people dipping their hands into the storedwater,lack of hygiene in the household and the storage containerbeing accessible to children.

Table 3 Bureau of Indian Standards specifications for drinkingwater for pH, TDS and hardness (as CaCO3)

Parameter Desirablelimit

Permissible limit(in the absence ofalternate source)

pH 6.5–8.5 6.5–8.5

TDS (mg/l) 500 2,000

Hardness (mg/l, as CaCO3) 300 600

Table 2 Semi-quantitative risk matrix approach (Deere et al. 2001)

Severity or consequence

Insignificant or noimpact—rating: 1

Minor complianceimpact—rating: 2

Moderate aestheticimpact—rating: 3

Major regulatoryimpact—rating: 4

Catastrophic publichealth impact—rating: 5

Likelihood orfrequency

Almost certain—rating: 5

5 10 15 20 25

Likely—rating: 4 4 8 12 16 20

Moderate—rating: 3 3 6 9 12 15

Unlikely—rating: 4 2 4 6 8 10

Rare—rating: 5 1 2 3 4 5

Risk score < 6 6–9 10–15 >15

Risk rating Low Medium High Very high

Environ Monit Assess

Tab

le5

Excerpt

from

risk

matrixforWTPs

Hazardous

event

Basis(reasons

forselectionof

likelihoodandconsequencescores)

Hazard

Control

measures

Likelihood

Consequence

Riskband

Correctiveactio

nPo

st-implem

entatio

nrisk

Onlinemonito

ring

system

notfunctioning

properly

atKanhanWTP

Visualinspection

C,P,M

Nocontrolm

easures

5.0

3.5

VH

Repairandmaintenance

ofonlin

emonito

ring

system

L

Pench-IIWTPin

aseverely

degraded

condition

Visualinspection

C,P,M

Nocontrolm

easures

5.0

4.5

EMajor

repairsto

beundertaken

L

Old

Gorew

adain

aseverely

degraded

condition

Visualinspection

C,P,M

Nocontrolm

easures

5.0

4.5

EMajor

repairsto

beundertaken

L

Electricfailu

rePlantrecords

C,P

Nocontrolm

easures

3.0

3.5

HDedicated

power

lineto

besuppliedto

each

WTP

L

Cchem

ical,P

physical,M

microbial,E

extrem

e,VHvery

high,H

high,M

medium,L

low

Tab

le4

Excerpt

from

risk

matrixforcatchm

ent

Hazardous

event

Basisof

likelihoodand

consequencescores

Hazard

Control

measures

Likelihood

Consequence

Riskband

Correctiveaction

Post-im

plem

entation

risk

Sewageoverflow

sfrom

human

habitationduring

monsoon

period

Hum

ansettlem

entp

resent

near

KanhanRiver

MSeptictanksarein

place

3.5

4.5

VH

Constructionof

closed

conduitfor

rawwater

transm

ission

No

approvalto

develophabitation

withoutp

ropersewage

managem

entsystem

L

Overflowfrom

ashpond

during

monsoon

period

Due

tooverflow

inrainyseason

C,P

Settlingof

ashparticlesis

done

inashpond

2.7

4.1

HCareful

monitoring

ofsupernatant

from

ashpond

M

Idol

immersion,religious

activ

ities

There

isno

fencingaround

Gorew

adareservoirand

thereisatempleclosetothe

reservoir

C,P,M

Nocontrolm

easures

3.5

4.2

HProhibitidolimmersion

andother

religious

activities

atrawwater

sourcesProvideseparatepond

for

idol

immersion

L

Hum

anwastefrom

proposed

Gorew

adaZoo

project

Daily

activities

ofvisitors

atzoo

C,P,M

Sewagetreatm

entp

lant

isplannedin

proposed

project

3.4

5.0

VH

Sufficientb

arrier

hasbeen

putu

pbetweenrecreationalareaand

reservoirGuesthouses

tobe

locatedoutsidethecatchm

ent

L

Cchem

ical,P

physical,M

microbial,E

extrem

e,VHvery

high,H

high,M

medium,L

low

Environ Monit Assess

The other prominent risk is the corrosion of pipeswithin the household. It was observed that pipes arerarely checked for leaks or corrosion. Hazards withinthe households completely depend on the users, aware-ness within the community regarding these hazards andwillingness to adopt safe sanitary practices.

Water quality monitoring

Water quality monitoring was done at all levels of thesupply including raw water sources, water treatmentplants, distribution network and households. Figure 4presents the result of microbial contamination in termsof CFU per 100 ml at different points in the water supplysystem. The maximum concentration of faecal coliforms(85 CFU/100 ml) was found at the source. No microbialcontamination was observed at the outlet of the watertreatment plant and MBRs. Recontamination was ob-served within the distribution network at ESRs.However, microbial contamination within the householdranged widely from 1 to 72 CFU/100 ml, indicating thatrecontamination in the household is strongly dependenton the practices of individual users. Residual chlorine wasless than the required 0.2 mg/l (BIS 1991) in 100% of thesamples collected from household taps. Increase in faecalcoliforms from treated water to point-of-use confirms therecontamination of drinking water in the distribution net-work and during storage and handling. These resultssignify the importance of repair and maintenance of dis-tribution network along with creating awareness aboutsafe storage and handling practices at the household.The absence of residual chlorine in household watersamples also indicates the need to re-evaluate chlorinedosing at the water treatment plants in order to achieve therequired minimum residual concentration of 0.2 mg/l atthe consumer end. pH (7.14+0.22), TDS (302+4.18 mg/l) and hardness (121.3+5.77mg/l as CaCO3) values at thehousehold water samples were not found to exceed drink-ing water limits set by the Bureau of Indian Standards(BIS) given in Table 3.

Control measures

No control measures were present within the catchment.Although the catchment is a protected zone and is underforest cover, certain anthropogenic activities were foundto exist.

Water samples were analysed to validate controls atWTPs. Studying water quality records, visual inspectionT

able6

Excerpt

from

risk

matrixfordistributio

nsystem

Hazardous

event

Basisof

likelihoodand

consequencescores

Hazard

Control

measures

Likelihood

Consequence

Risk

band

Correctiveactio

nPost-im

plem

entatio

nrisk

Cross

contam

ination

with

sewer

lines

Customer

complaintsandvisual

inspectio

nP,M

Nocurrentcontrol

measures

4.0

5.0

ELayingnewpipe

networkas

per

norm

sL

Biofilm

form

ationdue

tolack

ofchlorine

Nodataareavailable

P,M

Chlorinelevelsare

kept

incheck

3.0

4.5

HScheduleformonitoring

ofchlorine

levelsatspecified

pointsinthedistributionsystem

L

Contaminationdueto

ingressof

foreign

matterduring

pipe

bursts

Publicworks

departmentrecords

C,P,M

Flow

isregulatedto

preventb

ursts,visual

inspectio

nandleak

repairprogram

2.2

5.0

HLayinghigh-density

polyethylene

(HDPE

)andmedium-density

polyethylene

(MDPE

)pipes

Standard

operatingprocedure

(SOP)

forlaying

pipes

M

Contaminationdueto

ingressof

foreign

matterfrom

perforations

incorroded

pipes

Publicworks

departmentrecords

C,P,M

Manualinspection,repair

andmaintenance

program

2.0

5.0

HLayingnon-corrosivepipessuch

asHDPE

andMDPE

pipes

L

Cchem

ical,P

physical,M

microbial,E

extrem

e,VHvery

high,H

high,M

medium,L

low

Environ Monit Assess

and the experience of the operator also helped in vali-dation. Visual inspection showed that several unit oper-ations were found to be working ineffectively at theolder treatment plants.

Certain control measures were found in the distribu-tion network. Booster chlorination is done at MBRs andESRs and chlorine levels are checked at the outlet ofESRs weekly. Residual chlorine levels in the range of0.1–0.3 mg/l at the outlet of each MBR and ESR con-firmed that chlorination was being done effectively.However, it was observed that both MBRs were in astate of disrepair.

In cases where sufficient data were not available forvalidation of control measures, the hazards wereassigned a high residual risk.

Improvement plan

The improvement plan includes corrective actions suchas capital works including repair/rehabilitation andmaintenance, community awareness programs for con-sumers, training programs for operators and enhancedcommunication among various stakeholders.

Post-implementation risk scores are the potential riskfrom each hazard after implementation of correctiveactions. It takes into account the likelihood of a correc-tive action being implemented and its effect on waterquality.

In the case of catchment, WTPs and distributionnetwork, a significant reduction in risk has beenassumed as there are construction and repairworks. However, in households, corrective actionsinvolve behaviour change. Therefore, marginal riskreduction is assumed as consumer response cannotbe accurately predicted.

Implementation of corrective actions within a time-line is the responsibility of NMC and WTP operators.

Management programmes

SOPs are a critical focus during the implementation of aWSP. As NMC had very limited reference documents toguide day-to-day operations, considerable time and en-ergy are being invested in the development of system-specific SOPs. This requires documenting procedures tobe followed during normal operating conditions and inspecific ‘incident’ situations. An incident is a situationwhere water being supplied for drinking purposes mightbecome unsafe (WHO 2004).T

able7

Excerpt

from

risk

matrixforhouseholds

Hazardous

event

Basis(reasons

forselectionof

likelihoodandconsequencescores)

Hazard

Control

measures

Likelihood

Consequence

Risk

band

Correctiveaction

Post-implem

entatio

nrisk

Corrosion

ofgalvanized

iron

(GI)houseservice

connectio

n

Customer

complaints

CNocurrentcontrol

measures

2.5

4.5

HAdvicepeopleto

periodically

checkGIpipes

M

Storage

vesselisdesigned

fordipping

Visualinspection

P,M

Use

ofstoragevesselwith

tapin

17%

ofhouseholds

4.6

5.0

EAwarenessprogram

plannedby

anon-governmento

rganization(N

GO)

M

Using

dipper

with

short

orno

handle

Visualinspection

P,M

Use

ofladlewith

long

handleto

access

water

in26

%of

households

4.6

5.0

EAwarenessprogram

plannedby

anNGO

M

Vesselaccessibleto

child

ren

Discussionwith

consum

ers

P,M

Vesselsatappropriateheight

in50

%of

households

3.5

4.8

VH

Awarenessprogram

plannedby

anNGO

M

Cchem

ical,P

physical,M

microbial,E

extrem

e,VHvery

high,H

high,M

medium,L

low

Environ Monit Assess

In the water supply system of Nagpur, several utilityoperations are outsourced to contractors. It has beensuggested that the authorities develop a detailed proce-dure against which contractor activity could be mea-sured and assessed. Investigation should be undertakeninvolving all staff to discuss the current performance,assess inadequacy of current procedures and addressany issues or concerns during documentation ofprocedure.

An annual review protocol has also been prepared,which includes testing water quality at each step of thewater supply system and comparing this to critical limitsbased on WHO guidelines.

A list of the proposed management programmes forNagpur WSP is given in Table 8.

Supporting programmes

A key finding of this study is the importance ofsupporting programmes. It was found that the watersupply utility alone cannot ensure the provision of safedrinking water and protection against water-borne dis-eases. In several parts of the city, water is supplied tohouseholds through water tankers during summermonths. In such cases, it becomes difficult to controlwater quality. As shown in “Households”, improperstorage and handling also cause recontamination.Therefore, it becomes necessary to create awarenessabout point-of-use water treatment by involving a localNGO. Tools such as rallies, locality meetings and

informative posters have been deployed to promote safewater practices and hygiene in Nagpur.

It is also suggested that the Water Works Departmentand Public Health Department of NMC should collabo-rate to conduct surveillance monitoring as part of a duediligence program. This would involve collecting dataof jaundice and typhoid cases from hospitals and iden-tifying those localities in the city where water might begetting contaminated in the distribution network. Localdispensaries and primary health centres should reportcases of water-borne diseases to the local governmenthospitals. If contaminated water is being pumped fromtheWTPs, then these results should be communicated tothe operator immediately.

Training and awareness workshops have been carriedout to enhance the skills of WSP team members andpublic health engineers and to increase their capacity to

87

8

0 0

7

12

51

4

72

3235

28

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

CFU/100ml

Fig. 4 Average faecal coliformcount in Nagpur water supplysystem

Table 8 Proposed management programmes

Employee training to disseminate the concept of WSP

Developing SOPs to ensure compliance with water qualitystandards

Annual external auditing of the Water Works Department

Setting up a toll-free helpline to improve customer service

Monitoring employee performance through indicators such asresponse time, % customer complaint redressal and supplyrestoration time after cleaning or repair

Biennial review of WSP

Environ Monit Assess

manage the water supply system. These were conductedby external experts and in-house personnel to addressthe issue of gaps in staff knowledge that might impedethe implementation of the WSP. This also increasedcommunication between stakeholders and helped themgain an understanding of the importance of a WSP.

Challenges faced during implementation

One of the challenges faced during this study is relatedto the feasibility of catchment protection within thewater supply. Since land ownership is ambiguous anda great number of bureaucratic hurdles exist, it might notbe feasible to change and implement policies regardingland use and catchment protection. It is also not possibleto delineate a timeline for each corrective action. Even ifland management policies are kept in place and physicaldemarcation and protection is done, adherence to theserules or their long-term effectiveness cannot be ensured.Therefore, instead of substantially restricting activitywithin the catchment, stakeholders should be sensitizedabout the need to restrict dumping of untreated munic-ipal or industrial sewage, building of residential com-plexes near water bodies and allowing the catchmentarea to be developed for tourist purposes.

Lately, there has been increasing interest in the ef-fects of organizational culture within the agencies re-sponsible for supplying water on the success of WSPs(Summerill et al. 2012). Although there is full commit-ment of the operator, certain hindrances are still beingfaced during implementation. These stem from the in-ternal complexity of the water supply system as well asexternal influencing agents. At times, there is lack ofcommunication between various stakeholders and am-biguity of control and authority. Where there are multi-ple organizations involved, the WSP team acts as amediator to ensure that the risk is removed smoothly.

During rehabilitation of the distribution network, ithas been observed that delay in procuring equipment,conflicts between contractors and engineers and lack ofcooperation from residents impede the implementationprocess. Legalization of unregistered connections issometimes met unfavourably. Therefore, it is importantfor the WSP team to have administrative backing andmembers who can solve these problems.

Public health surveillance is of great importance inorder to meet health-based targets. Sufficient data re-garding water-borne diseases were not available at

primary health care centres. More efficient record keep-ing is needed to identify incidents of disease and quan-tify the effects of WSP.

Conclusion

This study describes the process of developing andimplementing a WSP for a large-piped water supply inIndia. To introduce the concept of WSP, it was essentialto have a key resource person with prior experience indeveloping WSPs. This experience came from WHOandYarra ValleyWater, Melbourne. It would be useful ifa group of experts is made available to guide futureWSP development in India. To this effect, NEERI andWHO have taken steps to identify and train water supplyofficials from selected cities.

NMC is now moving towards the provision of con-tinuous water supply in Nagpur. The findings of theWSP study are being used to prioritize the interventionsplanned as a part of this project. The principles of WSPhave been used to make day-to-day operations moreefficient and employees more accountable. It has result-ed in better communication and incident reporting.

This study revealed certain vulnerabilities in the wa-ter supply system, especially within the distributionnetwork. These include intermittent water supply, irreg-ular repairs and faulty layout of the pipe network. Evenwhere protocol is in place, it is not always followed.

Further, it was found that there is a lack of consumerawareness regarding point-of-use water treatment andlimited availability of health data, which is not conduciveto achieving health-based targets. Supporting programmesare, therefore, critical to address these issues.

Further research is being planned to assess cost savingsand health benefits of implementing WSP in Nagpur.

The process of developing and implementing a WSPwill face challenges unique to each water supply.Although risks to water quality might be similar for alarge number of cities in India, certain modifications tothe WSP will be necessary based on how the waterutility is operated. Several hindrances will be facedduring implementation which requires in-depth knowl-edge of the system and local expertise. Experiences arerequired from different parts of the country so thatWSPs can be integrated into India’s urban water supply.

Acknowledgments The authors wish to thankWHO for endors-ing this study; Ms. Payden, Mr. Asoka Jayaratne, Dr. A.

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Gunasekar andMr. Bruce Gordon for providing their expertise; theGovernment of India for funding implementation; the engineers,chemists and operators of Water Works Department of NMC, staffof Orange City Water and Center for Development Research andthe research staff at NEERI, especially Mr. A. Talkhande, Ms. VijiJohn, Ms. Priya Kundley and Mr. Swapnil Kamble, for theirsignificant contributions. The authors also wish to thank Dr. P.Nagarnaik for his advice in paper structuring and content.

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