Status of small-scale water supplies in the WHO European Region. Results of a survey conducted under the Protocol on Water and Health

Abstract

Small-scale systems are an important component of water supplies in the WHO European Region. To improve the evidence base on small-scale water supplies and to gain a better overview of the status quo throughout the Region, the WHO Regional Office for Europe and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe made a survey requesting country-specific information in 2012-2013 under the Protocol on Water and Health to the 1992 Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes. The survey had a high response rate (81%), and this analysis of the results includes responses from 43 of the 53 countries in the WHO European Region. <BR>This report summarizes the findings of the survey, which showed that about 23% of the population of the Region receive their drinking-water from small-scale systems. The results reveal that comprehensive information on small-scale water supplies is typically not readily available at the national level across the Region, which hampers systematic assessment of the prevailing conditions. Establishing national registers of small-scale water supplies and routine data collection mechanisms would improve the evidence base and thus support the prioritization of improvements. The findings of the assessment are intended to inform policy-making and the formulation of intervention strategies and to help identify further action under the Protocol.<BR>Quelle: http://www.euro.who.int<BR>