Drinking water quality monitoring, assessment and management in Pakistan: A review

In this review, the importance of a robust frame work for drinking water quality monitoring, assessment and management has been discussed. This review presents the global overview of the drinking water quality, illuminating the global challenges of water supply system from catchment to consumers and briefly discussing appropriate regulatory frameworks and risk analysis tools. It also presents meticulous summaries of water reports released by the government and non-governmental organizations with special emphasis on health-based targets, proposed strategies related to preventive risk management (through water safety planning), environmental impact assessment (EIA), and independent surveillance in Pakistan. This paper reviews various studies published in national and international journals and reports, released by the government and non-governmental organizations, to provide a summary of the current knowledge with regards to the contemporary water quality management system that is still developing in the country. Role of agencies and their policies for water quality management and monitoring is one of the most important impact categories that has been covered in this review. The reviewed publications provide strong support for claims that impacts of unsafe water on health and economy of a country are very dangerous. Improved access to safe drinking water by a development-oriented strategy can have tangible improvements in socioeconomic status of a country.