Regulation and surveillance.

 

Regulations, regulatory frameworks, risk management approaches and independent surveillance are essential for delivering quality drinking-water and sanitation services, and are the focus of this section.

Nearly 90% of countries reported having standards in place for urban (89%, 92 of 103) and rural (88%, 90 of 102) drinking-water quality. In terms of service delivery requirements, 86% of countries (82 of 95) reported having defined regulations or standards for urban drinking-water and 75% (68 of 91) for rural drinking-water. Along the sanitation service chain, most countries also reported having regulations, standards or guidelines in place (Fig. 4.1), but those that address faecal sludge management are less common than those for sewered sanitation. Regulations for safe disposal or reuse of faecal sludge and wastewater are least common overall.

Regulation is an important mechanism to ensure compliance with established service standards and norms. Most countries reported having regulatory authorities for urban (91%, 94 of 103) and rural (83%, 83 of 100) drinking-water and for sewered (82%, 84 of 103) and on-site (72%, 73 of 101) sanitation. However, lower-middle- and low-income countries are less likely to report having regulatory authorities, especially for sewered sanitation where only 58% of low-income countries (11 of 19) reported having a regulatory authority (Fig. 4.2).

Countries use various regulatory models, with over half of countries reporting ministerial regulation as the most common regulatory model, followed by regulation by agency (Table 4.1).

 

The mandates and efficacy of each regulatory authority may vary. For example, only 61% of countries (57 of 94) reported that urban drinking-water regulatory authorities fully enforce planning and action to address non-compliance, and only 43% (40 of 94) publish publicly accessible reports on drinking-water quality. One barrier to effectiveness could be the inadequacy of resources to support and enforce regulations. Since 2021, countries have consistently reported a lack of human resources for the regulation of sanitation and drinking-water. In the GLAAS 2024/2025 cycle, only 24% of countries (23 of 95) reported having at least 75% of the human resources needed for drinking-water regulation and only 19% (18 of 96) reported having at least 75% of the human resources needed for sanitation regulation. Box 4.1 presents a global call to action to strengthen water and sanitation regulation

Risk management approaches – such as water safety planning and sanitation safety planning – aim to enhance the safety of water and sanitation services by proactively identifying, assessing and managing risks across the service chain. The majority of countries reported including water safety planning or equivalent approaches in policies/regulations for urban (79%, 81 of 103) and rural (75%, 76 of 102) drinking-water (Fig.  4.3). Of those, fewer countries require the implementation of these approaches, and even fewer reported implementing risk management approaches for drinking-water at a significant scale.

Independent surveillance of drinking-water quality, wastewater and faecal sludge is an important function that ensures services, and the quality of those services, are delivered in line with established standards. Surveillance should be performed regularly in line with requirements, and the data should be used to inform planning and preventive and/or corrective action.

 While most countries reported having regulations or standards for drinking-water and sanitation, GLAAS 2024/2025 data show there is a gap between the mandated surveillance and how often surveillance takes place. For example, in urban areas, only 21% of countries (21 of 102) reported drinking-water surveillance is undertaken at 95–100% of the required frequency (Fig. 4.4)