Sanitary Evaluation of Rural Water Supply Projects — China, 2020

WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN ABOUT THIS TOPIC? Over the last decade, the centralized water quality and supply have been substantially enhanced in rural China. However, compared with the urban water supply, most of the rural Water Supply Projects (WaSPs) are small in scale, simple in engineering facilities, and poor in management. WHAT IS ADDED BY THIS REPORT? Most of the rural WaSPs have been basically guaranteed sustainable sources of water. More measures should be taken to improve water disinfection effects, water losses control, and operational and maintenance management. The WaSPs with water supply <3,000 m(3)/d need to be paid more attention. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH PRACTICE? Laws and regulations requiring rural WaSPs to carry out a sanitary evaluation should be established. WaSPs should use tools such as World Health Organization Water Safety Plans to identify and control risks.