Abstract
Quality standards
Water is connected to every forms of life on earth. As a criteria, an adequate, reliable,
clean, accessible, acceptable and safe drinking water supply has to be available for various
users. The United Nation (UN) and other countries declared access to safe drinking
water as a fundamental human right, and an essential step towards improving living
standards. Access to water was one of the main goal of Millinium Development Goals
(UN-MDGs) and it is also one of the main goal of the Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs). The UN-SDG goal 6 states that “Water sustains life, but safe clean drinking water
defines civilization”. Despite these facts, there are inequalities in access to safe drinking
water in the world. In some countries, sufficient freshwater is not available (physical scarcity);
while in other countries, abundant freshwater is available, but it is expensive to
use (economic scarcity). The other challenge is the increasing population of the world at
an alarming rate, while the available freshwater resources almost remains constant. This
chapter presents aspects of safe drinking water - background information, definition of
water safety and access, benefits, principles and regulations, factors challenging the sustainable
water supply and water quality standards and parameters.