# 2.3 Benefits of the Framework Management of drinking water quality through a comprehensive preventive strategy benefits the water industry by providing an overall framework that: * protects and promotes public health by assuring safe and aesthetically pleasing drinking water for consumers * enables an in-depth systematic evaluation of water systems, the identification of hazards and the assessment of risks * provides health-based and aesthetic guideline values including microbial health-based targets to ensure that preventive strategies, such as multiple barriers, for managing water quality risk and protecting public health are robust and reliable * fosters a holistic approach to, and understanding of, management of drinking water quality * emphasises prevention and places drinking water quality monitoring in an appropriate verification role * introduces a common and standard approach throughout the industry, which establishes due diligence and credibility * supports various agencies and stakeholders to better undertsand and identify their areas of responsibility, which enables a cooperative and coordinated approach * provides a framework for communication with the public and with employees * addresses the uncertainties in setting accurate guideline values when insufficient scientific data are available * identifies future research needs for individual systems and throughout the water industry,\ and assists the development of improved risk assessment for specific hazards. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://guidelines.nhmrc.gov.au/australian-drinking-water-guidelines/part-1/chapter-2/2.3-benefits-of-the-framework.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.