AWWA WQTC62543

A comprehensive self-assessment "toolbox" was developed to assist small water utilities in determining those components of their system that may have the greatest potential risks for microbial contamination. The motivation for developing the toolbox was the fact that individual and small water systems account for the majority of waterborne disease outbreaks recorded in the United States each year (Craun et al., 2002). The "Microbial Risk Assessment Guide" (or Toolbox) consists of an interactive program that provides instruction, training and guidance to the user. At the heart of the Toolbox is a set of questionnaires that the user completes for each part of the water system. Answers are then entered into a "Ranking Tool" that scores each part of the water system, presents the scores both graphically and in tabular format, and provides specific comments for areas that may be at greatest potential risk for contamination. Includes 11 references, figures.