Natural hazard risk analysis in the framework of water safety plans.

The available literature on natural hazard risk analysis focused on the implementation of water safety plans (WSPs) is surprisingly quite poor, despite the significant increase in the number and severity of disasters and adverse effects on drinking water supply systems generated by natural hazards. At the same time, WSPs that conveniently account for natural hazards with a comprehensive approach 'from source to tap' are still scarce as they typically occur at larger spatial scales and adequate prevention, mitigation and adaptation require efficient inter-institutional collaborations. The aim of this paper is to highlight the main bottlenecks for water utilities to include natural hazards in the development of their WSPs. The research adopted a stakeholders-oriented approach, involving a considerable number of water utilities (168), water sectoral agencies (15) and institutions (68) across the Adriatic-Ionian Region through a stepwise process that generated joint SWOT analysis, the development of a decision support system (DSS) focused on WSPs procedures and tabletop exercises. The final outcomes generated strategic documents (REWAS - Adrion Road map for resilient water supply) that highlighted the necessity for efficient cross-sectoral and inter-institutional cooperation in the development of well-founded and robust WSPs to address natural hazard risk analysis for water supply systems (DWSS).

Water Safety Plans and HACCP implementation in water utilities around the world: benefits, drawbacks and critical success factors.

Drinking water is of paramount importance for people's health. Many outbreaks due to poor water quality are being recorded even nowadays. Although the institutional framework exists at global (e.g., WHO guidelines) and national level, there are still many factors contributing to water contamination. Risk assessment tools, such as HACCP and Water Safety Plans, are being elaborated all over the world to act proactively referring to drinking water quality. The present paper aims at reviewing the implementation status of risk assessment tools around the world and presenting the benefits and the difficulties recorded during the implementation process. The benefits include improved water quality, improved operational efficiency, reduced consumers' complaints, reduced production cost, and reduced potential hazardous incidents. Studying the difficulties, the identification of critical success factors for the implementation of such tools is feasible. Some of the critical success factors include the financial and human resources, staff training, effective identification of critical control points, correct estimation of the occurrence and the severity of the hazards, effective coordination, and efficient monitoring.

Water resources vulnerability assessment in the Adriatic Sea region: the case of Corfu Island.

Cross-border water resources management and protection is a complicated task to achieve, lacking a common methodological framework. Especially in the Adriatic region, water used for drinking water supply purposes pass from many different countries, turning its management into a hard task to achieve. During the DRINKADRIA project, a common methodological framework has been developed, for efficient and effective cross-border water supply and resources management, taking into consideration different resources types (surface and groundwater) emphasizing in drinking water supply intake. The common methodology for water resources management is based on four pillars: climate characteristics and climate change, water resources availability, quality, and security. The present paper assesses both present and future vulnerability of water resources in the Adriatic region, with special focus on Corfu Island, Greece. The results showed that climate change is expected to impact negatively on water resources availability while at the same time, water demand is expected to increase. Water quality problems will be intensified especially due to land use changes and salt water intrusion. The analysis identified areas where water resources are more vulnerable, allowing decision makers develop management strategies.