ISO Publishes Int'l Workshop Agreement on Water Security
May 16, 2008 // Published as a news service by IHS
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New guidelines on managing drinking water supplies during crises have become available from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in the form of ISO International Workshop Agreement (IWA) 6 - Guidelines for the management of drinking water utilities under crisis conditions.
According to ISO, disruption of drinking water supplies can have grave consequences and result from both man-made and natural causes, ranging from terrorist attack to industrial pollution of rivers to hurricanes.
ISO also said water supply organizations have become more aware of the need to achieve and demonstrate proactive security performance related to their physical facilities, services, activities, products, supply chains and operational continuity.
The IWA 6 guidelines constitute the first stage of a suite of standards for water security.
While the management of drinking water utilities under crisis needs to meet national or regional requirements of relevant authorities, the development of international standards can provide further assistance, ISO said.
IWA 6 provides a framework for the management of water crises and proposes tools and means for ensuring drinking water security, and models for water distribution systems security. The main topics covered are:
- Water security products and means, including water contamination detection and identification technologies, physical and electronic protection and hardening of water contamination containment.
- Optimized modes, including for prediction of and dealing with dissemination of contamination in water systems, designing the most effective and efficient ways for positioning monitors and means of containment in water supply systems and best practice for decontamination.
- Technologies and processes for managing a water security event that includes risk management, security and continuity management, communications, interoperability, training and competence.
Shimon Tal, chairman of IWA 6, said, "Crisis management in water disaster is done by the authorities through regulations and laws. The responsibility for supplying water to the consumers falls on the water utility.
"That is the reason this IWA focuses on water utilities; these entities are the ones that need the guidance, best practices and tools to meet and coordinate expectations with their consumers as well as cover themselves in relation to the authorities," Tal said. "The document has to be such a tool and will be useful to a wide range of water utilities, from large competent water facilities to small water works."
The publication of the IWA 6 guidelines for water crisis management gives water utilities an approach for providing their stakeholders assurance about their security and continuity preparedness, emergency, contingency plans and performance, ISO said.
The guidelines also provide a framework for meeting legal and policy requirements in these areas. In addition, the management methodology proposed is based on the Plan-Do-Check-Act model.
For ordering information, visit http://www.iso.org.
Source: International Organization for Standardization (ISO).