Safe drinking water: Critical components of effective inter-agency relationships

The paper supports the development of evidence-based emergency management frameworks of cooperation between agencies in the area of drinking water and public health, as part of developing the overall risk management culture within water utilities. We employed a qualitative research design to underst...

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Main Authors: Jalba, D., Cromar, N., Pollard, S., Charrois, Jeffrey, Bradshaw, R., Hrudey, S.
Format: Journal Article
Published: Pergamon 2010
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/34501
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author Jalba, D.
Cromar, N.
Pollard, S.
Charrois, Jeffrey
Bradshaw, R.
Hrudey, S.
author_facet Jalba, D.
Cromar, N.
Pollard, S.
Charrois, Jeffrey
Bradshaw, R.
Hrudey, S.
author_sort Jalba, D.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description The paper supports the development of evidence-based emergency management frameworks of cooperation between agencies in the area of drinking water and public health, as part of developing the overall risk management culture within water utilities. We employed a qualitative research design to understand critical gaps in inter-agency relations that aggravated past drinking water and health incidents and from these identified determinants of effective relationships. We identified six critical institutional relationship components that were deficient in past incidents, namely proactivity, communication, training, sharing expertise, trust and regulation. We then analysed how these components are addressed by reputable water utilities and public health departments to develop positive examples of inter-agency cooperation. Control of different risks (e.g. public health, business, and reputation) resulting from drinking water incidents should employ a preventive framework similar to the multiple barrier approach for management of drinking water quality.
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institution Curtin University Malaysia
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publishDate 2010
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-345012017-09-13T15:14:33Z Safe drinking water: Critical components of effective inter-agency relationships Jalba, D. Cromar, N. Pollard, S. Charrois, Jeffrey Bradshaw, R. Hrudey, S. Risk management Incident management Waterborne outbreaks Inter-agency cooperation Drinking water Public health The paper supports the development of evidence-based emergency management frameworks of cooperation between agencies in the area of drinking water and public health, as part of developing the overall risk management culture within water utilities. We employed a qualitative research design to understand critical gaps in inter-agency relations that aggravated past drinking water and health incidents and from these identified determinants of effective relationships. We identified six critical institutional relationship components that were deficient in past incidents, namely proactivity, communication, training, sharing expertise, trust and regulation. We then analysed how these components are addressed by reputable water utilities and public health departments to develop positive examples of inter-agency cooperation. Control of different risks (e.g. public health, business, and reputation) resulting from drinking water incidents should employ a preventive framework similar to the multiple barrier approach for management of drinking water quality. 2010 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/34501 10.1016/j.envint.2009.09.007 Pergamon restricted
spellingShingle Risk management
Incident management
Waterborne outbreaks
Inter-agency cooperation
Drinking water
Public health
Jalba, D.
Cromar, N.
Pollard, S.
Charrois, Jeffrey
Bradshaw, R.
Hrudey, S.
Safe drinking water: Critical components of effective inter-agency relationships
title Safe drinking water: Critical components of effective inter-agency relationships
title_full Safe drinking water: Critical components of effective inter-agency relationships
title_fullStr Safe drinking water: Critical components of effective inter-agency relationships
title_full_unstemmed Safe drinking water: Critical components of effective inter-agency relationships
title_short Safe drinking water: Critical components of effective inter-agency relationships
title_sort safe drinking water: critical components of effective inter-agency relationships
topic Risk management
Incident management
Waterborne outbreaks
Inter-agency cooperation
Drinking water
Public health
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/34501