Abstract
ABSTRACT In many countries, small community systems have an important role as suppliers of drinking water for large part of the population. These systems must be evaluated with respect to their capacity to produce and deliver safe drinking water. As there are thousands of small systems to be evaluated in any given region, it is necessary to develop a procedure for selecting a representative sample, as well as the use of indicators that can provide information about the state of the systems. The objective of this study was to propose and apply a methodology to evaluate the vulnerability of small communities drinking water systems. The methodology includes the application of a statistical method to select a representative sample of systems in a region. It also proposes vulnerability indicators, ratings and an index. As a case study, the methodology was applied to determine the vulnerability of small community drinking water systems in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Data collected with application of the proposed methodology indicated that 67% of the surveyed systems were classified as having intermediate and high levels of vulnerabilities, hence at risk of distributing water that is not safe for drinking.
Highlights
In year 2015, it was estimated that 2.5 billion people lacked access to safely managed drinking water services, defined as those that are located on home grounds, available when needed and free from fecal and chemical contamination (WHO, 2017)
Some indicators had a predominance of high, medium and low vulnerability levels, while others had a combination of conditions
The suggested vulnerability index and sampling technique used in the small community drinking water system case study can be extended to other regions
Summary
In year 2015, it was estimated that 2.5 billion people lacked access to safely managed drinking water services, defined as those that are located on home grounds, available when needed and free from fecal and chemical contamination (WHO, 2017).Improvements in drinking water and sanitation yield health and economic benefits. It is estimated that contaminated drinking water results in more than half a million deaths each year. A large percentage of the population relies on small drinking water systems (SDWS) for their basic needs. Small systems differ from those of larger cities with respect to management, infrastructure, technology and operation. They frequently lack trained personnel and have limited financial resources to maintain the systems’ sustainability (WHO, 2012b). In the European Union, one every ten people get their drinking water from small systems (HULSMANN, 2005). Recognizing the importance of the topic, the World Health Organization published a manual for development and implementation of water safety plans for small communities drinking water systems (WHO, 2012a)
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