TITLE:
Water Safety Plan as a Tool for Improved Quality of Municipal Drinking Water in Nigeria
AUTHORS:
Emma E. Ezenwaji, Philip O. Phil-Eze
KEYWORDS:
Agencies, Contamination, Safety, Service, Source
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Environmental Protection,
Vol.5 No.11,
August
26,
2014
ABSTRACT: Nigerian
standard for drinking water quality 2007 emphasized that all water service
providers including State Water Agencies and Community Water Committees shall
develop a water safety plan. This ensures the minimization of contamination of
water supply from source, reduction or removal of contamination through
treatment processes and prevention of contamination during storage,
distribution and handling of drinking water. The aim of this study is to
explain the meaning of water safety plan and highlight its importance including
the ways it can be employed to achieve enhanced piped distribution of drinking
water of good quality. The assessment of its level of development in Nigeria,
the extent it can be employed to improve the present low health status of
Nigerian urban populace, as well as its implication to general urban
development in the country were discussed. It is concluded that an articulate
and urgent water safety plan are necessary for the sustainability of urban
water supply.