Protection and control of water quality for the updating of the WHO guidelines for drinking-water quality : report on a WHO working group, Bad Elster, Germany 17-19 June 1996

Abstract

The WHO guidelines for drinking-water quality are an important resource for the maintenance of the supply and quality of drinking-water worldwide. Since the publication of the second edition, a process of continuous updating has begun, and will extend coverage to aspects of risk management, as well as risk assessment. A WHO working group of 14 experts met in Bad Elster, Germany, at the Research Department of the Institute for Water, Soil and Air Hygiene, the WHO collaborating centre for research on drinking-water hygiene, to discuss aspects of risk management, including resource and source protection, water treatment, materials and chemicals used in the production and distribution of drinking-water, and the monitoring and assessment of drinking-water supply and quality. The group made detailed recommendations on the content and format of priority guidance and developed a programme of work for its preparation, aiming for publication of the first set of guidelines by the end of 1997