World Health Organization | 1958
The World Health Organization has long appreciated the need for some form of international agreement and cooperation on the requirements for safe and potable water supplies.
The status of water treatment and quality in the Member States of the World Health Organization was the subject of a questionnaire circulated in 1953. The replies clearly indicated the magnitude of the problem and the need for attention by the World Health Organization.
That water intended for human consumption must be free from chemical substances and microorganisms in amounts which would provide a hazard to health is universally accepted. Supplies of drinking water should not only be safe and free from dangers to health but should also be as aesthetically attractive as possible. Absence of turbidity, colour and disagreeable or detectable tastes and odours is important in water supplies intended for domestic use. The location, construction, operation and supervision of water-supply-its sources, reservoirs, treatment and distribution must exclude all potential sources of pollution and contamination.
Some countries in the world have established standards of quality which are applicable to their respective areas and have developed a certain degree of uniformity in methods of analysis and in the expression of the results of such analyses. Other countries, however, lack official or recognized standards of water quality and have no accredited procedures for the examination of water to assess its quality and safety. During regional and international conferences sponsored by the World Health Organization, the problems of standards of quality for a safe and acceptable water supply and of accredited or approved methods for the examination of water have been fully discussed by groups of expert hygienists and engineers concerned with matters of water sanitation.
Great improvement in water quality can be achieved throughout the world if various treatment processes are made easily comparable by the adoption of uniform methods for the examination of water and for the expression of results of such examinations. Further, outbreaks of water-borne disease could be avoided through stricter control by the responsible water-supply and health authorities of the quality of water distributed for drinking purposes.
The World Health Organization has therefore conducted a study of these problems, in collaboration with Member States and with the assistance of a number of experts, in an effort to offer technical guidance to health and sanitation administrations wishing to revise their regulations on water quality control.”
Download WHO 1958 Drinking Water.
Bibliography
World Health Organisation (1958). International Standards for Drinking Water. WHO, 152 pp.
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