ISO 24510 · ISO 24511 · ISO 24512 · Water and wastewater services
ISO 24510, 24511 and 24512: guidelines for better water and wastewater services.
The three ISO 24500-series guidelines help utilities understand what users need, manage drinking water and wastewater services and assess performance, and Sterling helps utilities put them into practice and prove it.
- Fixed scope, one proposal: consulting, Effivity software and Sterling Academy access in one proposal
- A team of expert and experienced consultants, working on management systems across sectors and countries since 2003
- The Sterling Promise: 100% on-time completion, 100% success, 8,100+ client engagements. These are guidelines: there is no certificate, and Sterling does not certify
8,100+ client engagements in 60+ countries.
Client experience across standards
What it is
What are ISO 24510, ISO 24511 and ISO 24512?
They are three International Standards from ISO/TC 224, the committee for drinking water, wastewater and stormwater systems and services. ISO 24510 covers the service from the user's side: which elements of drinking water and wastewater services matter to users, and how to identify their needs and assess whether they are met. ISO 24511 gives guidelines for managing wastewater utilities and assessing wastewater services. ISO 24512 does the same for drinking water utilities and services.
A companion report, ISO/TR 24514:2018, gives worked examples of performance indicators built on the three standards, for small and large utilities in public and private hands.
Current editions. ISO 24510:2024 was published in January 2024 and ISO 24511:2024 and ISO 24512:2024 in February 2024. Each is the second edition and replaces its 2007 predecessor.
Who it is for
Who uses ISO 24510, 24511 and 24512?
The guidelines are used by:
- Water and wastewater utilities. Public and private operators wanting a structured view of service quality and management.
- Regulators and municipalities. Bodies that set service objectives or compare operators can use common terms and indicators.
- Concession and PPP parties. Contracts for water services need measurable performance terms.
- Funders and development partners. Programmes that finance utility improvement need a recognised framework.
Because the standards are guidelines, the value lies in the improvement and the indicators, not in a certificate.
Requirements
What do ISO 24510, 24511 and 24512 cover?
Each document is a set of guidelines rather than requirements. At title level, the series covers:
- ISO 24510:2024: elements of drinking water and wastewater services relevant to users, and how to identify their needs and expectations and assess whether they are met
- ISO 24511:2024: management of wastewater utilities and assessment of wastewater services
- ISO 24512:2024: management of drinking water utilities and assessment of drinking water services
- ISO/TR 24514:2018: examples of performance indicators using ISO 24510, ISO 24511 and ISO 24512
What does useful evidence look like?
Service objectives agreed with users or the regulator, performance indicators with definitions and data sources, complaint and service records, and management reviews that act on the results. We keep them in Effivity, so indicators are calculated from records rather than compiled by hand.
Your engagement
What your ISO 24510, 24511 and 24512 engagement includes
There is no certificate at the end, so the engagement is measured by the improvement it delivers. Sterling aligns your utility with the guidelines and, where you want independent recognition, builds towards a certifiable standard.
Alignment and gap assessment
Your service and management practice compared with the guidelines, with owners and dates.
Service objectives and indicators
Indicators defined, sourced and reported, drawing on the approach in ISO/TR 24514.
Effivity ISO & GRC software
Records, indicators and actions in one workspace, included with the engagement at no additional cost.
Training for your people
Preferential Sterling Academy access, including complimentary awareness training for your people as part of the engagement.
Internal review and management review
Facilitated as agreed, so results turn into decisions.
Route to certification, if wanted
ISO 9001, ISO 14001 or ISO 55001 certification by an accredited body, built on the same system.
These standards are guidelines and are not certifiable. Sterling does not certify; where you choose a certifiable standard, an accredited certification body audits and decides.
Often combined with
Standards organisations pair with ISO 24510, 24511 and 24512
- API Spec Q1API Spec Q1 certification consulting for oil and gas suppliers: contract review, design, purchasing and release controlled, prepared for the APIQR audit.
- AWS StandardAWS water stewardship certification to the Alliance for Water Stewardship Standard: what it is, who asks for it and how Sterling prepares your site for audit.
- CHAS, SafeContractor and AchillesCHAS, SafeContractor and Achilles accreditation for UK contractors: what each scheme is, who asks for it and how Sterling prepares your evidence.
- GRESBGRESB assessment explained: Real Estate, Infrastructure and Development components, the annual cycle, validation and ratings, and how Sterling prepares you.
- IEC 61511IEC 61511 compliance for process plants: the safety instrumented system lifecycle, functional safety management and the evidence your assessors expect.
- IEC 62443IEC 62443 certification consulting for industrial automation and control systems: zones, conduits and security levels for owners, integrators and suppliers.
Effivity · ISO and GRC software, included in every engagement
How Effivity helps you run, automate and simplify your ISO 24510, 24511 and 24512 work.
Every Sterling ISO 24510, 24511 and 24512 engagement includes Effivity, the ISO and GRC automation platform built by the Sterling group and used in 50+ countries. Your consultant configures the workspace within the agreed scope, so documents, risks, audits, nonconformities, training records, supplier and contractor checks and management review live in one place, the system runs in daily work and the regulator or auditor reviews a live system rather than a binder. Sterling consulting clients get their Effivity subscription included with the engagement, at no additional cost.
Context, scope and interested parties
The scope, the issues that matter and the interested parties behind your ISO 24510, 24511 and 24512 work sit in one register and are reviewed on a schedule, so the context stays current instead of being rewritten before each review.
Policy, roles and objectives
Commitments, responsibilities and objectives with their measures, owners and dates live where the people who own them work; progress is reported from the system, not from a separate spreadsheet.
Risks and opportunities
A risk and opportunity register with owners, actions and review dates; treatments tracked to closure and brought to management review automatically.
Competence, awareness and documented information
Training and competence records for every person, linked to Sterling Academy; documents with versions, approvals and distribution, so the current version is the only one in use.
Operational controls, suppliers and contractors
The controls your ISO 24510, 24511 and 24512 work depends on, with supplier and contractor checks, inspections and maintenance, each with its record created as the work is done.
Monitoring, internal audit and management review
Audit programmes, findings and follow-up; indicators on live dashboards; a management review that records its inputs, decisions and actions.
Nonconformity and corrective action
Raised, investigated and closed with root cause and the evidence that the action worked; recurring issues visible to management before they become a finding.
Your own processes, forms and reports
Forms, fields, workflows and reports adapted to how you work, without code; legal and customer requirements tracked to the processes they affect.
What this means when performance is reviewed
When a regulator, board or auditor asks how service performance is measured, the indicators, their data and the actions taken are screens in Effivity, with dates and owners attached.
In your engagement
- Subscription included with the engagement, at no additional cost
- Configured by your Sterling consultant within the agreed scope
- Your documents, records and registers migrated, not retyped
- Admin and user training for your team
- Modules for QMS, EMS, OHSMS, ISMS and more when you integrate other standards
Sterling Academy · e-learning for your people
Build service-quality awareness across your utility, not just the management team.
Sterling Academy delivers e-learning for the whole workforce and for the people who run the system: video lessons with practice checkpoints, a final exam and a numbered Certificate of Completion for each learner, verifiable online. Sterling consulting clients benefit from preferential Sterling Academy course access and special pricing through their Sterling consultant, including complimentary awareness training for their people as part of the engagement.
- Awareness training for every employee, with the evidence of competence your ISO 24510, 24511 and 24512 work needs
- Practitioner courses for the people who own processes and records
- Internal auditor training for the people who will audit the system, as applicable to your standard, as part of the engagement
- Learner progress by department and a training status report ready for the regulator or auditor
- New hires trained as they arrive, so evidence stays current
- A Sterling consultant reachable when a learner needs one
Keep exploring
Explore more about ISO 24510, 24511 and 24512
ISO 24510, 24511 and 24512 resources
Services for ISO 24510, 24511 and 24512
Why Sterling
Want to put ISO 24510, 24511 and 24512 to work? Come to Sterling.
Utilities answer to users, regulators and funders at once. We turn the guidelines into objectives, indicators and routines your teams run, and connect them to any certified systems you already hold.
60+ countries since 2003
Management systems implemented for manufacturers, contractors, service firms and public bodies across every region we serve, with one engagement team accountable across every country you operate in.
All-inclusive proposal
Consulting, Effivity, training and Academy access in one proposal, with any certification-body fees identified separately. No surprises, ever.
A system your people can use
Less documentation and maximum effectiveness: documents, training and software connected to day-to-day operations, so your people adopt the system rather than tolerate it.
Expert and experienced consultants
Expert and experienced consultants who have advised on management systems across sectors and countries since 2003, and who build your ISO 24510, 24511 and 24512 work properly the first time.
The Sterling Promise
What our ISO 24510, 24511 and 24512 success guarantee means
We stay with you until your agreed ISO 24510, 24511 and 24512 outcome is achieved, supporting implementation, preparation and the resolution of findings. Clear explanations, practical delivery, included software and employee learning turn the investment into lasting capability rather than a certificate on a wall.
The engagement identifies the guidelines, scope, outcome and responsibilities. Your organisation supplies accurate information and puts the agreed practices into use. No certificate exists for these guidelines; where a certifiable standard is in scope, the accredited certification body retains its decision. Our commitment concerns the agreed support.
FAQs
Frequently asked questions about ISO 24510, 24511 and 24512
Can a utility be certified to ISO 24510, 24511 or 24512?
No, these are guidelines and there is no certificate. Utilities that want independent recognition usually pair them with a certifiable standard such as ISO 9001, ISO 14001 or ISO 55001.
What changed in the 2024 editions?
The 2024 editions are second editions that replace the 2007 versions. We read the current text with your team during the gap assessment rather than summarise changes we cannot show you from the documents.
How do the three standards fit together?
ISO 24510 looks at the service from the user's side, while ISO 24511 and ISO 24512 cover the management of wastewater and drinking water utilities respectively. A utility that provides both services typically uses all three, with ISO/TR 24514 as a guide to indicators.
Talk to a consultant
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