Improving small water supplies in the Nordic countries: Achieving resilience through Risk-Based Management and Surveillance

Small drinking water supplies across the Nordic region face disproportionate risks of non‑compliance in faecal contamination and, of waterborne disease outbreaks, and lag in adopting risk-based approaches (RBA). The small water supplies, including a large number of very small and unregulated systems, serve around four and a half million inhabitants, or 17% of the Nordic population.

RBA improves drinking water quality and public health, is required in the EU Drinking Water Directive (EU DWD), and is recommended in World Health Organization guidelines . Legal frameworks requiring RBA exist across the Nordic region but implementation in small systems is negligible in some regions. Emerging challenges to water suppliers to include climate change which is altering hazard profiles with increasing temperature and extreme weather events with an uncertain future trajectory that we found to be insufficiently reflected in RBA policy and practice. Similarly, lessons from COVID‑19 and other recent pandemics confirm that preparedness should also be part of RBA. Our study revealed precarious staffing, delayed maintenance, surveillance disruptions, and supply chain dependencies during the pandemic, even though automation and digital communications supported continuity during the pandemic.

Official surveillance capacity - that is the day-to-day work of health inspectors and national administrations - is overloaded, especially for the small supplies. Most Nordic countries lack even the foundation of a comprehensive register that includes very small and unregulated systems where risks are greatest. Regular national statistics on water quality are not always available although required in some of the national drinking water legislations.

The finding show that small systems have specific challenges and are not managed as effectively as the large ones. However, the small systems should not be understood as downscaled large systems. Instead, small supplies should be helped with additional guidance and regulations that are, suitable for their specific, individual characteristic. The training of operators of small supplies is insufficient in some of the countries whereas training is legislatively required in others and typically the information provided to small system customers is inconsistent and difficult to access.

The new EU-DWD (2020/2184) states that RBA should be applied by all regulated water suppliers, including small water suppliers. Our work reveals that this remains to be done and that the substantial benefits, such as reducing incidents, raising compliance and enhancing resilience are unrealized and maybe beneficially achievable in all (including non-regulated) small systems. It was also found that achieving these through down-scaling approaches applied to larger systems is impractical and probably ineffective; and that an effective response requires both strengthening of support systems and strengthening of individual water supply systems.

Strengthening of the nation-wide support systems would be beneficial in most countries. This includes: the surveillance function, such as by strengthening inspector capacity; making RBA resources and activities small‑system‑fit and accessible in relevant languages; improving data accessibility and transparency to users; establishing or improving national registries of water supplies to include the numerous small (50-500 people) and smallest (<50 people) water systems, as well as requiring and enabling training for everyone involved in operating small systems. Involved stakeholders include central and local government, providers of education and training, those involved in emergency preparedness and response, and professional associations.

These support systems should collectively facilitate context-specific improvements tailored to the local circumstances of individual water supplies. Effective implementation is likely to be progressive and towards inclusion of the widespread very small systems, programmed to include all system types, and scheduled with deliberate lesson-learning and adaptation. We therefore recommend progressively extending risk-based management towards coverage of all small water supplies and developing the resilience of these systems through risk-based management, initially including adaptation to a changed climate and to pandemic resilience and ultimately towards establishing broad-based multi-threat resilience.

Our work reveals substantive opportunities for better use of existing knowledge and resources to improve small drinking water systems. It is crucial to deal with the small supplies both as indviduals and to provide support and guidance across them at scale. Our specific recommendations are practical and attainable; and together would substantively improve the resilience of small water supplies to diverse threats, across the Nordic region and enhance drinking water safety for many. The general lessons have widespread applicability beyond the region and arguably worldwide.

Based on our work on improving the drinking water quality and resilience in the small and very small water supplies in the Nordic region, our individual reports include the following specific recommendations:

Require Risk-based Approach (RBA) for all supplies and provide small-system-fit template in the local language such as a sanitary inspection form and implement a pilot case for learning and training to facilitate implementation for the small systems. Use the readily available WHOs guidelines and training material on the subject and adapt to local language and circumstances.

Include climate change and pandemic risks into RBA practice and manuals, and embed climate change, pandemic and other crisis scenarios into RBA followed by rehearsing plans. Prioritize automating the operation of the small water supplies.

Institutionalize and require operator training in legislation including water quality issues, where not in place. These should be targeted at the small water supplies while designing for their needs. Track completion and provide online delivery of training for remoteness, e.g., by online teaching and testing.

Strengthen surveillance by expanding inspector staffing and tools, standardize checklists with additional guidance for small-scale supplies, prioritize risk-based inspection frequencies and include auditing and regular inspection of RBA at all supplies, large and small alike, and adapt methods for remote areas.

Facilitate cooperation and collaboration between small-scale water supplies as is done in some of the Nordic countries, including Denmark and Finland where operators learn from each other and get guidance e.g., via online services

Complete national registries and regular reporting of all water supplies including currently unregulated supplies, and link to licensing and country reporting. Conduct regular national reporting of drinking water quality in a national summary that includes and separately analyses and report on the status and progress in small supplies.

Establish a national water quality database, if this is not in place, to increase transparency and thereby public confidence, and always include the small water supplies. This entails development of a central, publicly accessible, easily comprehensible and searchable database along with timely national reporting to meet EU DWD Article 17’s expectations for regular, accessible, and comparable information for everyone.

Increase Nordic cooperation with shared templates e.g., guidance text, benchmarking, and joint pilot projects for small systems.