During the Network's last webinar “Water quality testing in action: Making your testing program work in the real world” there were some questions to our panelist Dr. Anna Murray that couldn't been answered because of time constraints. We are answering them here.
If you missed the event, you can register to watch the recording here.
Question: What is the difference between water quality standards and water quality guidelines?
The World Health Organization (WHO) is part of the United Nations (UN) and it focuses on international public health. The WHO writes the Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality (2011) to protect public health and help make sure that people are drinking safe water around the world.
The WHO Guidelines explain that safe drinking water will not make people sick at any time throughout their life, including when they are young, old or already sick. Safe drinking water should be good to use for all of our personal needs, including drinking, cooking and washing. The WHO Guidelines cover microbiological, chemical and physical parameters. However, it is stressed that microbiological quality is the most important since fecal contamination from people and animals is the biggest cause of illness and death around the world.
Countries need to adapt the WHO Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality to their context and realities; therefore, national standards vary among countries.
There is no single approach that is used worldwide. The Guidelines are recommendations to work towards, and they are not mandatory limits. Countries can take the WHO Guidelines into consideration along with the environmental, social, cultural, and economic circumstances particular to the country. This means that many countries have developed their own national standards that are different from the WHO Guidelines but are still protective of public health.