Understanding hosting communities as a stakeholder in the provision of water and wastewater services to displaced persons

Abstract

In 2015, when German hosting communities had to accommodate more than 1.2 million displaced persons, they encountered multiple challenges with their built environment. The provision of infrastructure services to incoming displaced people may require changes to the existing infrastructure. As such, the provision of infrastructure services may elicit either support or opposition within hosting communities regarding the methods used to provide infrastructure services to displaced persons. This study assesses how hosting communities perceive various methods of providing water and wastewater infrastructure services to displaced persons; these methods are making (1) no changes, (2) temporary changes, or (3) permanent changes to the preexisting infrastructure. Statistical modeling and qualitative analysis were coupled to analyze data gathered from a survey deployed in 2016 to local German residents. The results suggest that the magnitude of displaced persons received by hosting communities, understood as a contextual factor, influenced hosting communities’ perceptions toward different categories of infrastructure alternatives. Qualitative analyses revealed that hosting communities do consider alternatives beyond physical changes, such as educating displaced people on using existing infrastructure. By understanding hosting communities’ perceptions of the provision of services to displaced people, decisionmakers and utility engineers may develop sustainable infrastructure alternatives with input from hosting communities.