Message from the Chair of the Organising Committee
Water supply utilities world over are currently faced with the challenge of providing adequate safe drinking water in their areas of jurisdiction. Although there has been great technological advancement in the tools and methods of water supply management and maintenance there are equally challenging issues especially climate change, population growth leading to unplanned settlement and improper land use practices amongst others. These have led to increased water pollution and scarcity in many developing countries. The challenge of unplanned rural-urban migration without marching utility service provision has created pockets of low income informal settlements in cities of the developing world.    

 

  Many well to do people now have more access to safe drinking water while on the other hand, an increasing number of disadvantaged communities or the urban poor, especially those living in informal settlements experience shortage of drinking water or consume contaminated water.

One key approach to improved management of both small scale household and large continuous urban water supply is the development and implementation of Water Safety Plans (WSP), which is recommended by WHO as proven approach to ensuring supply of safe draining water. The benefits of WSP implementation go beyond quality assurance and safety to improved system maintenance and sustainability. With the increased adoption and institutionalization of WSP worldwide, there is hope that more and more communities will get sustainable access to safe drinking water. This will boost the drive towards achieving the MDG, Goal 7c: “Halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation”. 

The pace of WSP development in Africa has been understandably slow, mainly due to low access to information, inadequate training and funding. With the increased awareness and promotion of institutional reforms, African utilities will improve the pace of WSP adoption, development and implementation. This will ensure improvement in service delivery through curbing un-accounted for water and illegal water use practices which are common challenges for utilities in the developing world. It is anticipated that this conference will bring together water utility managers and water supply professionals to brainstorm and map out ways of applying WSP as a means of adapting to unchangeable challenges and taming those that are within solution capacity.

Silver Mugisha
National Water and Sewerage Corporation

 

A message from the Chair of the Programme Committee

Securing safe water supplies remains a top priority for water and public health professionals. The last decade has seen good progress in increasing access to safe drinking water and by 2015 we will know whether the drinking water component of MDG Target 7 has been met. The recent recognition of safe drinking water and sanitation as human rights gives further impetus for governments to take action and provide an enabling environment to realise universal access for all.

 

Progress to attaining such global commitments can be significantly enhanced through the implementation of effective interventions at scale. Water Safety Plans (WSPs) are one such intervention. Over seven years after they were introduced in international guidance documents, they have been extensively applied across the spectrum of developed and developing countries and for rural and urban water supply systems. Whilst this paradigm shift has assisted governments and water suppliers in transitioning to policies and practices that embrace risk-based, preventative management of drinking water supplies, there needs to be sharper focus on the elucidation of health impacts of WSP implementation and greater integration of WSPs into water utility planning and operations to ensure safe drinking water is delivered by efficient service providers.

 

As with the two previous editions of this conference series – 2008 in Lisbon and 2010 in Kuching – this event will bring together global practitioners, researchers and decision makers to discuss best practices and emerging trends for improving the safety of global water supplies. And in sub-Saharan Africa, the region most in need of accelerating improvements to water supply, we have the ideal location to reflect on lessons learned and drive the implementation of WSPs that are accruing tangible benefits to service levels, water quality and public health. I hope that you can join us in Kampala to present, discuss and contribute to the realisation of these objectives.

Jamie Bartram

University of North Carolina