World Water Day 2024: How Accreditation Ensures Quality Water from Testing Labs
What is World Water Day?
World Water Day, observed annually on March 22nd, is an international event emphasizing the importance of freshwater and advocating for sustainable water management. It’s a platform to raise awareness about water-related issues and promotes actions to address them. This year’s theme was Water for Peace.
Access to water is a human right. Yet, 2.2 billion live without safely managed drinking water services, with devastating impacts on their lives and wider society. Pollution and overconsumption are endangering the availability of fresh, clean, accessible water on which all life depends. Dwindling supplies can increase competition and inflame tensions between people, communities, and countries. That increases the risk of conflict. KENAS celebrated World Water Day to promote the importance of accreditation in ensuring the reliability and accuracy of water testing services, advancing sustainable water management practices, and safeguarding public health and environmental quality in Kenya.
The Role of Accreditation in Ensuring Quality Water from Testing Labs
Accreditation plays a crucial role in ensuring the quality and reliability of water testing results provided by laboratories. Here's how accreditation contributes to the assurance of quality water:
- Adherence to International Standards: Accredited testing laboratories comply with internationally recognized standards for water analysis. By adhering to these standards, accredited labs provide reliable and consistent water quality data, which is essential for effective water management and public health protection.
- Competence and Expertise: Accredited labs employ qualified professionals who possess the necessary knowledge, skills, and experience to conduct accurate and precise analyses. This ensures that the water quality testing is performed by competent individuals, leading to reliable results.
- Quality Assurance and Control: Accredited laboratories implement robust quality assurance and control measures throughout the testing process. By following these practices, accredited labs maintain the highest standards of accuracy, precision, and reliability, ensuring the quality of water testing results.
- Traceability and Comparability: Accredited labs use certified reference materials and participate in interlaboratory comparison programs to validate their methods and verify the accuracy of their results. This traceability and comparability enable meaningful analysis of water quality trends, support effective decision-making, and facilitate the exchange of data among different stakeholders.
Benefits of water from KENAS Accredited Testing Laboratories
- Reliability and Accuracy: Water tested by KENAS-accredited laboratories undergoes rigorous quality assurance processes.
- Trust and Credibility: Accreditation by KENAS enhances the credibility of the testing process and provides assurance of the results.
- Compliance with Standards: Adheres to international standards for water testing thus ensuring that the water is of high quality.
- Protection of Public Health: Water tested by our accredited laboratories is safe for consumption and other uses.
- Early Detection of Contaminants: Early detection of pollutants, pathogens, and other harmful substances allows for timely intervention and mitigation measures.
- Facilitation of Trade: In industries where water quality is critical, such as food and beverage manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and agriculture, having water tested by accredited laboratories is a requirement of market acceptance.
On World Water Day, KENAS promoted its accredited water testing laboratories by visiting Davis & Shirtliff Limited, one of our conformity assessment bodies which was accredited in December 2022. Since then, they’ve had an increase in water testing requests from 100 to over 300 currently. Through accreditation services, KENAS continues to support laboratories in achieving excellence in water testing, contributing to the overall goal of ensuring access to safe and clean water for all.
By relying on accredited testing labs, we can have confidence in the accuracy and reliability of water quality data, enabling informed decision-making to protect public health and safeguard our precious water resources. Together, we can make a difference in preserving this invaluable resource.
