Presentation

Presentation from the 2010 World Water Week in Stockholm©The Author(s), all rights reserved

Policy priorities, risk assessment, and water quality

Dr. Jeremy Allouche, IDS

Structure of the presentation

1. Water quality, risk assessment and policy priorities and practices

2. Risk assessment and policy priorities: Critical infrastructure protection and water contamination

3. Governance and the management of risk: PSP and water quality

Water quality, risk assessment and policy priorities and practices (1)

• Water quality and social sciences– Transboundary water governance, access to water, water

scarcity– Water quality – out of global sustainability debates (exception;

EU WFD)– Why?

• Obscurity of water quality:– the complexity of dynamic water and sanitation systems– the interaction of social, technological, political and economic

domains (e.g. from international security to globalization)

• Uncertainties and risk assessment in water quality– Social construction of risks / Arbitrariness– Governance and the management of risks

Water quality, risk assessment and policy priorities and practices (2)

2 examples:

1. Risk assessment and policy priorities:

• critical infrastructure protection, urban water security and water contamination

2. Risk responsibilities and institutional governance

• PSP, regulatory governance and water quality

Risk assessment and policy priorities (1)

• Critical infrastructure protection and urban water security: a new policy topic– US Homeland Security Act (2002)– European Directive on Critical Infrastructure Protection

(2006)– UK Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure

(2007)– UN High-Level Symposium on “Water Security at the

United Nations” (2009)– The establishment of a Global Water Security Alliance &

the W-SMART Association (Water Security Management Assessment, Research & Technology- Water TNCs, security agencies (USA, Israel & France)

Risk assessment and policy priorities (2)

• Urban water security, 3 potential risks: – water infrastructure (dam in China 1975).– cyber attacks (alleged cases in Australia and USA)– water contamination :

• Accident/deliberate sabotage. 1993 Milwaukee (USA) outbreak of waterborne disease.

• Terrorist attempts: In February 2002, the Italian authorities apparently stopped a plot by al-Qaeda to poison Rome’s water supply with cyanide-based chemicals

• Uncertainty, Vulnerability and risk assessment– how significant such threats are today, compared with other– targets that may be subject to terrorist attack, or,– how effective such attacks would actually be– Most biological pathogens cannot survive in water; most chemicals

require very large volumes to contaminate a water system.

Risk assessment and policy priorities (3)

• Policy dynamic:– UK: 11/08/09: G4S installs and maintains CNIguard smart

sensoring systems at Surrey Water reservoirs – May 2009: Mumbai, security company to protect the pipeline– South Africa critical infrastructure programme for the 2010

Soccer World Cup with funds from European Investment Bank.

• Disconnect between water quality risk issues and policy priorities – Low possibility, ‘low’ threat– Still a policy priority, Why?

• A risk society?• A risk environment (climate change and terrorism)?• Globalisation and political economy of a risk industry (security and

water industry)?

Governance and the management of risk (1)

• Water privatisation: Metro Manila’s Water and Sewerage System, Philippines

• Greenpeace (July 2000): La Mesa reservoir, the source of drinking water for Metro Manilla’s 10 million residents, contains toxic substances due to the run-off of flood waters at the Patayas dump site caused by heavy monsoon rains. – Greenpeace spokesman: “As of now, water at La Mesa contains

metallic substances such as chronium, zinc and alloys 30 percent beyond their safety level. These metals cause cancer to human beings”.

• Emergency response and legal responsibility– Department of Health: immediate investigation– Objection by the private provider– Private provider told that it had requested the closure of the dumpsite

long ago.

Governance and the management of risk (2)

• Multi-stakeholder partnerships - management of risk - complexity: water quality was not clearly discussed during allocation of responsibilities.

• Risk of legal standstill

• Lack of emergency system and procedures: An ad-hoc response (whose responsibility? Ministry of Health? Ministry of water resources? Private provider?)

Conclusion

• Insights:

– water quality/contamination, a second order priority

– Top-down ad-hoc short term policy priorities while..

– emergency systems: lacking systematic response to water quality

Thank You!

Jeremy Allouche

Timos Karpouzoglou

Lyla Mehta