Comparative Risk Assessment of Drinking Water Supply System Based on Wsp, Haccp and Fmea Methods: The Case Study of Bostan Abad (East Azerbaijan, Iran) Publisher



Sheikhi S ; Moshiri A ; Aslani H ; Alizadeh S
Source: Applied Water Science Published:2026

Abstract

Considering that drinking water is one of the main rout of diseases transmission, providing safe drinking water is a crucial priority. Therefore, risk assessment and its management approach for drinking water supply systems seems essential. This study was conducted with the aim of identifying and prioritizing the risks in the drinking water supply system of Bostan Abad city. A stepwise methodological framework was applied to assess the risks associated with drinking water system. Three complementary risk assessment tools including Water Safety Plan (WSP), Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP), and Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) were systematically employed to identify, evaluate, and prioritize hazards. The WSP-QA tool was utilized to assess system performance, a decision tree was applied to determine HACCP critical control points, and Risk Priority Number (RPN) were calculated within the FMEA framework to quantify and rank potential risks. The results showed that most of the microbial and physicochemical parameters examined in water resources, transmission line, storage tanks and distribution network were in the optimal range, while in some cases the parameters of turbidity, fluoride and residual chlorine in the transmission line, storage tanks and distribution network violated permissible level. The number of risks identified by WSP, HACCP, and FMEA were 102, 54, and 361, respectively. According to the results, WSP identified all important risks and can be used alone or together with other methods as an effective method for risk assessment of urban and rural water supply systems. However, the results of risk prioritization showed that the three methods are relatively compatible. It is worth mentioning that carrying out the necessary reforms can play an effective role in reducing the risk potential in times of crisis; so it is necessary to receive serious attention from the officials of the water industry. © The Author(s) 2026.