One of FAIRWAY's research topics is Water Safety Planning for adequate drinking water protection for small and large supplies. Our aim is to stimulate the improvement of drinking water safety across the European Union by sharing context, best practices and lessons learned on Water Safety Planning for both small and large water supplies (see »Lessons learned and recommendations for Water Safety Plans).

Data and information was collected from the Derg Catchment case study and used as described here.

1. Survey of case studies

All 13 FAIRWAY case studies were surveyed to see whether or not a Water Safety Plan (WSP), or equivalent, is in place within their area (see »Approach and methodology).

Derg Catchment does have a Water Safety Plan in place.

Further questions were asked to distill more details on the WSP approach: on the register of water supplies, risk assessment/risk management (RA/RM), communication and awareness, and stakeholder roles and responsibilities (see »Lessons learned and recommendations)

However, no further information about the WSP for the Derg Catchment could be provided. The reasons for this is that the local WSP is an internal document that was developed by Northern Ireland-Water staff without involvement of external organisations or stakeholders.

2. Key lessons learned

Key lessons learned from Derg Catchment and all case studies are that

1. Engagement of stakeholders is essential during all phases of RA/RM / Water Safety Planning.
2. The designation of a process owner helps in bringing together departments and stakeholders, spreading information throughout organizations and providing congruence between different RA/RM systems.
3. An agreed upon methodology and content enhances the effectiveness of Water Safety Planning and cooperation and communication between those involved.