World Health Organisation (WHO) launched an Updated Edition of Drinking Water Guidelines

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on 4 July 2011 launched an updated edition of drinking water guidelines at the Singapore International Water Week. The updated edition was launched to push water suppliers to systematically manage the potential risk of contaminants entering water.

It is aimed at helping governments to strengthen their management of drinking water quality by adopting water safety planning. According to WHO, countries have an opportunity to make substantial public health progress by setting and applying effective and appropriate standards for ensuring safe water.

The guidelines are regarded as the most authoritative framework on drinking-water quality and form the basis for national laws and regulations.

The guidelines include comprehensive good practice recommendations for the first time at different levels, from household rainwater harvesting and safe storage. The WHO guidelines also include policy advice on bulk water supply and the implications of climate change.

The new edition is based on the latest scientific evidence and contains hundreds of risk assessments on specific waterborne hazards. WHO estimated that two million people die from waterborne diseases and billions more suffer illness around the world.

The last edition of drinking water guidelines was released in 2004.