Bonn Charter principles for safe drinking water

See 'Related Materials' section to download pdfs of 6 of the 9 Bonn Principles

In the mid 1990’s a number of initiatives across the world began to question whether the so called “end of pipe” standard setting approach to protecting drinking water quality was the right way forward for the 21st century. 

This discussion began to come together in two main international forums. Firstly the massive task of updating the highly influential 3rd revision of the WHO guidelines on Drinking-water Quality, and in parallel, development of “The Bonn Charter for Safe Drinking Water”, the later of which was then adopted and published by IWA. Both documents describe a framework for safe-drinking water in which the importance of establishing health-based targets, developing water safety plans and undertaking independent surveillance are emphasised. The joint launch of these two documents in September 2004 marked a critical milestone in the provision of updated worldwide best practice advice on how the global challenge of providing safe drinking water could be met. 

This joint launch also paved the way for the development of a strategic partnership between IWA and WHO to promote and support the adoption of the framework over subsequent years.

The overall goal of the Bonn Charter was: “Good safe drinking water that has the trust of consumers”

To secure this goal the Charter set out 9 key principles described below, which need to be adopted by all those contributing to the provision and operation of water supply systems. These include specific references to institutional and governance issues and particularly the roles and responsibilities of the different actors involved in the whole water supply process. However, whilst the concepts and approaches described are universally applicable, it is clear that considerable adaptation will be necessary in each region of the world to allow for the different state of development, cultural, socio-economic and other local variables. Attached find 6 of the 9 principles that were elaborated on in detail.

(1) Management of the whole water supply chain should always be set in the context of management of the whole water cycle, including, but not limited to:
• Management of water resource provision, including, where necessary, resource augmentation.
• Management of water and land interactions, taking into account agricultural practices and urban development.
• The collection and treatment of wastewater.

(2) Systems to ensure drinking water quality should not be based solely on end-of-pipe verification (testing against predetermined standards). Rather, management control systems should be implemented to assess risks at all points throughout water supply systems and to manage such risks (see attached Principle 1)

(3) Such an integrated approach requires close co-operation and partnership between all stakeholders including governments, independent regulatory authorities, water suppliers, local public authorities, health agencies, environmental agencies, land users, contractors, plumbers and manufacturers of relevant materials and products, and consumers themselves (see attached principle 6)

(4) Open, transparent and honest communication between all stakeholders is essential to developing trust. It contributes to the development of effective water supply systems (see attached principle 3)

(5) The roles and responsibilities of the different institutions contributing to the delivery of safe and reliable drinking water need to be clearly defined and ensure complete coverage of the system from catchment to consumer. Governments should establish the legal and institutional arrangements necessary to assign appropriate responsibilities among the various parties (see attached principle 2)

(6) The way in which decisions are made relating to standards for the quality and reliability of water supplies should be transparent.

(7) Water should be safe, reliable and aesthetically acceptable. In progressively realising the goals, however, the standards applied may legitimately vary from location to location and over time (see attached principle 5)

(8) The price of water should be set so that it does not prevent consumers from obtaining water of sufficient quantity and quality to meet fundamental domestic needs
(see attached principle 4)

(9) Any system for assuring drinking water quality should:
• Be based on the best available scientific evidence.
• Be sufficiently flexible to take account of the different legal, institutional, cultural and socio-economic situations of different countries.

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