Use of coastal, estuarine and freshwater recreational environments has significant benefits for health and well-being, including rest, relaxation, exercise, cultural and religious practices, and aesthetic pleasure, while also providing substantial local, regional and national economic benefits. These guidelines focus on water quality management for coastal and freshwater environments to protect public health. The guidelines: 1. describe the current state of knowledge about the possible adverse health impacts of various forms of water pollution; and2. set out recommendations for setting national health-based targets, conducting surveillance and risk assessments, putting in place systems to monitor and control risks, and providing timely advice to users on water safety.These guidelines are aimed at national and local authorities, and other entities with an obligation to exercise due diligence relating to the safety of recreational water sites. They may be implemented in conjunction with other measures for water safety (such as drowning prevention and sun exposure) and measures for environmental protection of recreational water use sites.

This volume describes the methods used in the surveillance of drinking water quality in the light of the special problems of small-community supplies, particularly in developing countries, and outlines the strategies necessary to ensure that surveillance is effective.

The new guidelines are meant to protect public health, help evaluate development projects near freshwater and recreational sites and assess potential health aspects of recreational projects.

This guidebook, now thoroughly updated and revised in its second edition, gives comprehensive advice on the designing and setting up of monitoring programmes for the purpose of providing valid data for water quality assessments in all types of freshwater bodies. It is clearly and concisely written in order to provide the essential information for all agencies and individuals responsible for the water quality.

This is the 2024 update of the Compendium of WHO and other UN guidance on health and environment. The Compendium is a comprehensive collection of available WHO and other UN guidance for improving health by creating healthier environments. It provides an overview and easy access of more than 500 actions, and a framework for thinking about health and environment interventions. It covers a broad range of areas such as air pollution, water, sanitation and hygiene, climate change, chemicals, radiation, or food systems. Guidance is classified according to principal sectors involved, level of implementation (national, community, health care), the type of instrument (taxes, infrastructure etc.) and the category of evidence. The Compendium compiles existing guidance from hundreds of documents in a simple and systematized format. To ensure the most up-to-date information is provided to the end users, the Compendium is updated on a regular basis and incorporates the latest major WHO or other UN guidance on health and environment. The target audience includes any decision-makers with relevance to health and environment, and those assisting them (such as mayors, staff in ministries, UN country staff etc.). The Compendium has been prepared by WHO in cooperation with UN Environment, UNDP and UNICEF.

In this version of the compendium, each guidance is coded using the International Classification of Health Interventions (ICHI). The compendium provides a systematic compilation of published guidance from WHO and other UN organizations on health and environment. Guidance on policies and actions as well as awareness raising and capacity building interventions is presented for all major areas of health and environment. Guidance referring to priority settings for action such as cities and other urban settlements, housing, workplaces and health care facilities is also listed. For greater practical relevance, each guidance is classified according to principally involved sectors, level of implementation and instruments for implementation. The compilation of guidance for each area of health and environment or priority setting for action is accompanied, as available, by information on main sources, exposure assessment and existing guideline values. Important tools and further resources are presented alongside. This compilation of published guidance on health and environment highlights that a large number of actions across main topics of health and environment, concerning various sectors, and applicable to various levels are available to improve health and reduce environmental risks. This compendium is intended to serve as a repository and easy-to-use and useful resource for decision and policy makers in health and environment at various levels. The Compendium is planned to be updated on an annual basis as additional guidance becomes available.

The fourth edition incorporating the first and second addenda, of the World Health Organization's (WHO) Guidelines for drinking-water quality (GDWQ) builds on over 60 years of guidance by WHO on drinking-water quality, which has formed an authoritative basis for the setting of national regulations and standards for water safety in support of public health. It is the product of significant revisions to clarify and elaborate on ways of implementing its recommendations of contextual hazard identification and risk management, through the establishment of health-based targets, catchment-to-consumer water safety plans and independent surveillance. Updates in this latest edition reflect new evidence and further, provides additional explanations to support better understanding and application of the guidance. More details on the updates are included in the GDWQ preface.

Cyanobacterial toxins are among the hazardous substances most widely found in water. They occur naturally, but concentrations hazardous to human health are usually due to human activity. Therefore, to protect human health, managing lakes, reservoirs and rivers to prevent cyanobacterial blooms is critical. This second edition of Toxic Cyanobacteria in Water presents the current state of knowledge on the occurrence of cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins as well as their impacts on health through water-related exposure pathways, chiefly drinking-water and recreational activity. It provides scientific and technical background information to support hazard identification, assessment and prioritisation of the risks posed by cyanotoxins, and it outlines approaches for their management at each step of the water-use system. It sets out key practical considerations for developing management strategies, implementing efficient measures and designing monitoring programmes. This enables stakeholders to evaluate whether there is a health risk from toxic cyanobacteria and to mitigate it with appropriate measures. This book is intended for those working on toxic cyanobacteria with a specific focus on public health protection. It intends to empower professionals from different disciplines to communicate and cooperate for sustainable management of toxic cyanobacteria, including public health workers, ecologists, academics, and catchment and waterbody managers. Ingrid Chorus headed the department for Drinking-Water and Swimming-Pool Hygiene at the German Environment Agency. Martin Welker is a limnologist and microbiologist, currently with bioMérieux in Lyon, France.