Rapid drinking water safety estimation in cities: Piloting a globally scalable method in Cochabamba, Bolivia

Highlights: • Robust data on drinking water safety is currently not available for many cities. • This is a standard and scalable methodology where data is not readily available. • Access to infrastructure does not mean access to safe water. • Current drinking water safety levels in Cochabamba do not meet UN SDG 6. • This method yields credible and comparable urban drinking water safety data. -- Abstract: Systematically collected and comparable data on drinking water safety at city-scale is currently unavailable, despite the stated importance of water safety monitoring at scale under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We developed a rapid drinking water quality assessment methodology intended to be replicable across all cities and useful for monitoring towards achieving SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation).