Community Water Supply Research Articles

Long-Term Exposure to Arsenic in Community Water Supplies and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease among Women in the California Teachers Study.

Inorganic arsenic in drinking water (wAs) is linked to atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. However, risk is uncertain at lower levels present in US community water supplies (CWS), currently regulated at the federal maximum contaminant level of . We evaluated the relationship between long-term wAs exposure from CWS and cardiovascular disease in the California Teachers Study cohort. Using statewide health care administrative records from enrollment through follow-up (1995-2018), we identified fatal and nonfatal cases of ischemic heart disease (IHD) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Participants' residential addresses were linked to a network of CWS boundaries and annual wAs concentrations (1990-2020). Most participants resided in areas served by a CWS (92%). Exposure was calculated as a time-varying, 10-year moving average up to a participant's event, death, or end of follow-up. Using Cox models, we estimated hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) for the risk of IHD or CVD. We evaluated wAs exposure categorized by concentration thresholds relevant to regulation standards (, 1.00-2.99, 3.00-4.99, 5.00-9.99, ) and continuously using a log2-transformation (i.e., per doubling). Models were adjusted for baseline age, neighborhood socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, body mass index (BMI), and smoking status. We also stratified analyses by age, BMI, and smoking status. Our analysis included 98,250 participants, 6,119 IHD cases, and 9,936 CVD cases. The HRs for IHD at concentration thresholds (reference, ) were 1.06 (95% CI: 1.00, 1.12), 1.05 (95% CI: 0.94, 1.17), 1.20 (95% CI: 1.02, 1.41), and 1.42 (95% CI: 1.10, 1.84) for , , , and , respectively. HRs for every doubling of wAs exposure were 1.04 (95% CI: 1.02, 1.06) for IHD and 1.02 (95% CI: 1.01, 1.04) for CVD. We observed statistically stronger risk among those vs. years of age at enrollment ( and 0.012 for IHD and CVD, respectively). Long-term wAs exposure from CWS, at and below the regulatory limit, may increase cardiovascular disease risk, particularly IHD. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP14410.

A geospatial assessment of the resilience of municipal water supply to flooding in Nowshera District, Pakistan

Post-disaster functionality of the potable water supply infrastructure is crucial for maintaining public health and safety. The failure of the water supply system may harm inhabitants and significant users, which can impact other services and various types of infrastructures. It is vital to assess climate change impacts on water resources to ensure resilience and sustainable management. The study assessed the resilience of 22 municipal water schemes using an indicator-based framework, How Tough is Wash (HTIW), across six domains: environment, infrastructure, community governance, water supply management, supply chains, and institutional support. The sites of municipal water supply were purposively selected based on specific criteria to include those water supply schemes which have been directly affected by flooding or are vulnerable to the impact of the flood. The resilience scores ranged from (6 to 7.5) for schemes with very low resilience, (7.5 to 10.5) for those classified as poor, and (10.6 to 16.5) for schemes considered moderately resilient. It was discovered that protective measures against the risk of flood were negligible. Community engagement governance and water supply management needed to be stronger. Local governments can pinpoint current advantages and disadvantages by utilizing these metrics and their impact on the public water supply's resilience and strategically allocate resources for optimal outcomes. Furthermore, the metrics that have been suggested simplify and unify the multiple dimensions of the elements, enabling decision-makers to optimize the measures.

Assessment and enhancement of community water supply system sustainability: A dual framework approach

Population growth, pollution, and urbanization strain water sustainability, leading to the premature failure of community-managed water systems globally. This underscores the formidable task of precisely defining and quantifying sustainability within these community contexts. Based on the “You can't manage what you can't measure” adage, this study developed dual frameworks at community scale to assess and enhance the water supply system's sustainability. The assessment framework includes dimensions, indicators, and variables that convene into a Water Sustainability Index (WSI). WSI ranges from 1 to 4 where a score below 1.5 indicates poor water sustainability, while a score exceeding 3.5 signifies excellent sustainability. Likewise, the enhancement framework consists of dimensions, goals, and strategies. These frameworks relied on three specific dimensions, efficiency, resiliency, and community support. The identification of indicators, variables, and goals was based on SMART criteria. While the dimensions, indicators and goals are to remain consistent regardless of study areas, variables and strategies are site-specific and their selection needs to be based on each community's situations and data availability. The assessment framework suggested that the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) community has achieved fair water sustainability status with a score of 2.25. The strategic framework yielded several recommendations aimed at enhancing the sustainability of the water supply system at the AIT. The study's outcomes offer tools to evaluate the current situation of sustainability and assists local community authorities in devising solutions to enhance sustainability in community supply systems. Looking ahead, these frameworks lay the groundwork for future investigations, to explore localized, community-centric strategies for sustainable water management.

Identification and mapping of groundwater recharge zones using multi influencing factor and analytical hierarchy process.

The management of groundwater systems is essential for nations that rely on groundwater as the principal source of communal water supply (e.g., Mohmand District of Pakistan). The work employed Remote Sensing and GIS datasets to ascertain the groundwater recharge zones (GWRZ) in the Mohmand District of Pakistan. Subsequently, a sensitivity analysis was conducted to examine the impact of geology and hydrologic factors on the variability of the GWRZ. The GWRZ was determined by employing weighted overlay analysis on thematic maps derived from datasets about drainage density, slope, geology, rainfall, lineament density, land use/land cover, and soil types. The use of multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) involves the utilization of the multi-influencing factor (MIF) and analytical hierarchy procedure (AHP) to allocate weights to the selected influencing factors. The MIF data found that very high groundwater recharge spanned 1.20%, high zones covered 40.44%, moderate zones covered 50.81%, and low zones covered 7.54%. In comparison, the AHP technique results suggest that 1.81% of the whole area is very high, 33.26 is high, 55.01% is moderate, and 9.92% has low groundwater potential. The geospatial-assisted multi-influencing factor approach helps increase conceptual knowledge of groundwater resources and evaluate possible groundwater zones.

Uranium and arsenic from community water supplies and chronic kidney disease in California: Novel findings for exposures below regulatory limits

Uranium and arsenic from community water supplies and chronic kidney disease in California: Novel findings for exposures below regulatory limits

Regulated water contaminants in community water supplies in the California Teachers Study cohort

Regulated water contaminants in community water supplies in the California Teachers Study cohort

Trihalomethanes from residential community water supplies and chronic kidney disease risk among women in California

Trihalomethanes from residential community water supplies and chronic kidney disease risk among women in California

Relationship between Access to Clean Water and Child Growth and Development in Kenya

Purpose: The aim of the study was to analyze the relationship between access to clean water and child growth and development in Kenya. Methodology: This study adopted a desk methodology. A desk study research design is commonly known as secondary data collection. This is basically collecting data from existing resources preferably because of its low cost advantage as compared to a field research. Our current study looked into already published studies and reports as the data was easily accessed through online journals and libraries. Findings: Access to clean water significantly impacts child growth and development in Kenya by reducing waterborne diseases like diarrhea, improving hygiene practices, and ensuring adequate hydration. Children with reliable access to clean water experience better nutritional outcomes and enhanced immune function, crucial for their physical growth and cognitive development. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: Ecological systems theory (Bronfenbrenner), health belief model (Rosenstock) & social determinants of health (SDH) theory may be used to anchor future studies on relationship between access to clean water and child growth and development in Kenya. Expand the implementation of effective water purification technologies and community water supply projects in resource-constrained environments. Advocate for integrated policies that prioritize water security alongside nutrition-sensitive interventions. Policies should support multi-sectoral collaboration between health, water, and sanitation sectors to address the complex interplay between water access and child nutrition.

Forest disturbance thresholds on summer low flows in the interior of British Columbia, Canada

Summer low flows are critically important for community water supply and various aquatic functions in the interior of British Columbia (BC), Canada. There is a critical need to determine forest disturbance thresholds on summer low flows, particularly in the context of climate change and increasing forest disturbance. The forest disturbance threshold is defined as the disturbance level above which significant changes in flow variables are detected. In this study, we developed a seasonal hydrological response curve to determine forest disturbance thresholds for significant hydrological impacts on summer low flows in 20 forested watersheds in the BC interior. Based on the proposed method, the results suggest that forest disturbance thresholds varied from 8 to 52 % of CECA (cumulative equivalent clear-cut area) with an average of 18 %, which were not significantly different from thresholds on annual streamflow. Watersheds characterized by more distinct dry summers, lower annual energy availability, higher snow contributions, larger sizes, and greater topographic gradients (represented by greater slope, elevation difference, and downslope distance gradient, and lower water retention index) had lower disturbance thresholds on summer low flows. Both positive (increasing) and negative (decreasing) impacts of forest disturbance on summer low flows were detected. These results can greatly support practical watershed management for sustaining water supply in the local communities. Our methodology can potentially be applied in any individual watershed to assess forest disturbance thresholds on summer low flows where long-term data on forest disturbance, climate, and hydrology are available.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon in community drinking water, Nsisioken, Nigeria: Source and health risk assessment.

In 2011, the United Nations Environment Programme discovered high levels of hydrocarbon pollution in drinking water wells in Nsisioken Agbi Ogale Rivers State, Nigeria. However, the level of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the same community's water supply was unknown. A comprehensive study of PAHs in three household dug wells and three boreholes was conducted using Agilent 7890B gas chromatography and 5975A mass spectrometry. The detected PAHs were mainly 4 - 5 ringed PAHs, such as Chrysene, Fluoranthene, Pyrene, Benzo[a]anthracene, and Benzo[b]fluoranthene. The total mean concentration was 5.8 ± 2.3 μg/L, with values ranging from not detected in borehole 3 to 8.0 μg/L at well 2. Source identification analysis suggested that the PAHs originated from fuel and biomass combustion. The incremental lifetime cancer risk for children and adults due to groundwater ingestion and skin contact ranged from ND to 7.448 × 10-3 and ND to 1.83 × 10-3 respectively. The Risk index (RI) values from ingestion and dermal routes were 1.5 ×10-2 and 2.4 × 10-2, indicating high risk of cancer. The hazard quotient for the two non-carcinogenic PAHs was greater than 1, indicating high toxicity. The PAH concentrations exceeded the maximum contamination limits set by the World Health Organization and the U.S. environmental Protection Agency, highlighting potential health risks associated with water use in the community. Authorities should provide a safe alternative water source for the community.

Impacts of Deforestation on Soil Quality and Water Resources in Tropical Forest Areas of Sumatra

Deforestation poses a significant threat to the tropical forest regions of Sumatra, impacting soil quality and water resources crucial for ecosystem health and human well-being. This paper synthesizes the multifaceted impacts of deforestation on soil and water in Sumatra and proposes strategies for sustainable land management. Deforestation leads to a decline in soil organic matter, nutrient levels, and microbial diversity, affecting soil fertility and erosion susceptibility. Additionally, the loss of forest cover disrupts the hydrological cycle, altering water availability, quality, and distribution. Increased surface runoff and sedimentation degrade water bodies, threatening aquatic biodiversity and community water supplies. Integrated analysis highlights the interdependencies between land cover change, soil degradation, and hydrological processes, emphasizing the need for holistic management approaches. Reforestation, agroforestry, and community engagement are proposed as essential strategies for mitigating deforestation impacts and promoting ecosystem resilience in Sumatra.

Geological and anthropogenic contributions of metal(loid)s in the artisanal and small-scale mining-impacted Ocoña watershed of Arequipa, Peru

Strategies to resolve conflicts around water supply and quality in mining-impacted communities include a better understanding of the role and mitigation of mining activities proximal to surface water bodies. The Ocoña watershed of Arequipa (Peru) is one such region where there are conflicts between artisanal miners, fishers, and agriculture over local water resources. The aim of this study is to develop a workflow that leverages existing water quality monitoring and geological mapping to identify major processes that adversely impact water quality with a focus on the relative contribution of mining-related activities on the Ocoña watershed. This study integrates a statistical evaluation of water chemistry data, concentration-discharge relationships, and detailed mineralogy with geochemical modeling to identify sources and mechanisms of contaminant contributions to surface waters in the Ocoña watershed. This revealed that primary deposit mineralogy and seasonal variations exert direct effects on water quality in this mining-active watershed. Multivariate statistical analysis reveals two distinct hydrogeochemical signatures in Ocoña River water that likely represent natural geothermal activity in the northern portion and acid mine drainage contribution in the southern portion of the watershed. In both cases, anthropogenic activities such as mining and agricultural may increase contaminant mobilization. Interestingly, despite perceived challenges, water quality in the Ocoña watershed is better than that of neighbors potentially due to pH-controlled precipitation of Fe and resultant sorption of metals onto precipitants. However, copper released from acid mine drainage, and in particular peak concentrations during the high flow season, exert a potential for adverse ecotoxicological effects. This workflow could potentially be extrapolated to other regions with similar available data to better identify the relative contributions of natural and anthropogenic pressures to the release of toxic compounds in watersheds of concern.

Alternative Arrangement for Roof Tops Rural Housing Catching Rain Water in the Semi-Arid

Harvesting rainwater for human consumption through rooftops is becoming an increasingly common practice, especially in regions where there are no community water supplies, such as much of the Indian semi-arid region. The water collection systems installed in this region are based on the construction of cisterns to collect water collected through roofs. In order to contribute to the improvement of the performance of these systems, this work aimed to study the problems preventing the proper functioning of this important water supply and to propose design solutions adapting appropriate technologies for the rural population of the Indian hemisphere, Arid region. The starting point was a field study conducted in the rural community of Namakkal Taluk in Tamil Nadu between 2020 and 2021. The results showed that 80% of the residential buildings surveyed have a water intake system, but only 16% store enough water for a year-round supply. It was found that this low rate is mainly due to unreliable conditions for installation and maintenance of water conduit subsystems (gutters and channels). Based on this finding, and taking into account functional and aesthetic-formal aspects, five alternative devices for rainwater harvesting systems, consisting of roofs, gutters and channels, were developed. In order to simplify and, as a result, reduce the cost, the gutter supports were eliminated, which gave a performance advantage over conventional systems.

Determination of Fluoride Levels and pH in Community Drinking Water Supply across Pune City, Maharashtra

Context: The knowledge of fluoride levels and pH in potable water is important for health-care personnel and policymakers in general and dentists in particular, but the data regarding fluoride levels and pH of community drinking water in Pune City are deficient. Aims: The aim of this study was to determine the fluoride levels and pH in community drinking water supply across Pune City, Maharashtra. Subjects and Methods: In an in vitro, experimental study, a total of 30 water samples were collected from one water treatment plant, one water storage reservoir, and three adjoining residential areas of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) region. They were analyzed for fluoride content using (2-(parasulfophenylazo)-1,8-dihydroxy-3,6-naphthalene disulfonate) based-spectrophotometric method, and for pH using a digital pH meter. Statistical Analysis Used: Fluoride and pH values were subjected to Mann–Whitney U-test and intragroup comparison of fluoride and pH levels at various levels of water distribution was performed using Kruskal–Wallis test. Results: The mean concentration of fluoride and the pH in water samples from different locations across Pune City were 0.262 and 7.02 mg/L, respectively. Although levels across various sources were different, there was no statistical difference between the fluoride content or the pH of the water from sources across PMC and PCMC regions. Conclusions: The fluoride content of the community water supply of Pune City was below the recommended standards yet within the permissible limits in considering the temperature range in Pune City across different seasons. The pH of the drinking water of Pune City was optimal.

Island hydrogeology in the tropics: Constraining a 3D variable-density groundwater flow and solute transport model with geophysics

Saltwater intrusion is the greatest risk to coastal community water supplies where they are dependent on fresh groundwater as the main source of supply. For small, fractured bedrock island aquifers, the fresh groundwater lens dynamics and transition zone geometry are complex. This study investigated the impacts of projected increases in groundwater pumping on a fresh groundwater lens to evaluate changes to the lens geometry and localized up-coning from the deeper, more saline aquifers beneath a small bedrock island in the tropics. A combination of traditional hydrogeological datasets and an airborne electromagnetic survey were used to develop a three-dimensional density-dependent groundwater flow and solute transport model using the SEAWAT code. This investigation represents one of very few studies that have taken such an approach. The model was calibrated using observed groundwater hydraulic heads and chloride concentration data, and calculated chloride values based on bulk conductivity measurements determined from inverted geophysical data. A staged calibration approach was adopted, firstly assessing the time-average lens extent and geometry, and secondly considering the seasonal groundwater level response. In the calibration, the geophysical data helped constrain the lens geometry in the absence of hydraulic head and chloride data. The calibrated model was used to test scenarios where groundwater pumping rates were increased above the current demand of 452 m3 d−1, showing that the lens is likely to be stable, i.e., its available storage is not expected to contract excessively, for extraction rates of up to 3,000 m3 d−1. The combined use of geophysical data and a numerical modeling approach was advantageous in investigating the lens characteristics. It also demonstrated how these techniques can be used together to evaluate coastal water resources and to manage water supply risks for coastal communities. The study demonstrated that the freshwater lens can likely support the freshwater demands of the remote community, and is a preferred option compared with high-cost and more complicated options such as seawater desalination and managed aquifer recharge.

Water Supply Systems in Urban Slum Communities in Lagos, Nigeria: Between Self-supply and Co-production

By investigating the contribution of the ‘informal sector’, this article explores the resourcefulness of place-based practices and how they shape the urban water provision in Lagos. It also provides a detailed and critical view of the enormous efforts of inhabitants in urban slums in the daily water provision. Analysing the qualitative field data collected from observations, 89 semi-structured interviews (field notes), 6 focus group discussions and 12 expert interviews, water supply systems, the utilisation in slum communities and power and politics around it are exposed. Even if people can afford to pay the bills, the provision of urban services by state actors (or commissioned firms) is erratic and often not available. The daily infrastructure provision remains the responsibility of individuals and groups, mostly organised in complex yet fragile and changing networks. Drawing from the research on the existing, largely informal water supply in slum communities, this article argues for the recognition and pro-active implementation of hybrid approaches in the planning, implementation and administration of urban infrastructure. It calls for co-production and ‘hybrid water governance’.

Analysis of the physical chemistry of domestic water supply sources in choba, Port Harcourt, rivers state

Water are used for several important purposes but the most essential use considered on the basis of social and economic significance as it relates to the health of the population is human consumption and sanitation. Man needs constant and accessible supply of water to provide necessary prerequisite for important physiological and biochemical processes. On account of the general contention that water is more basic than all other critical stuff to life and in its pure state is commended key to health. This study aimed at to examine the physical characteristics of the water supply sources in Choba as a crucial factor for development and upon which the quality of life depends. Thus, water samples were collected from borehole and well water sources being the only available major sources of water supply in Rumuokocha, Rumuchakara, Igbogo, Owhipa, Ndudor and Rumualoghu communities that make Choba and the parameters investigated include pH, Temperature, Dissolved oxygen (DO), Conductivity, Total Dissolved Solid (TDS) and Salinity. The results of the analyses for temperature was t= 0.751 and t= 0.547 both at p<0.05 for borehole and well water sources implying no significant difference from the allowable limit by WHO whereas for DO, pH, salinity, TDS and conductivity, t= -51.966; -24.027; -24.796, -19.546 ;2.321and t= -51.966; -24.027; -16.966, -20.024; 2.272 for borehole and well water sources respectively indicating a statistically significant difference between the parameters investigated and the allowable limits. Similarly, the ANOVA result shows F= 400.384; 23.262; 19.997; 8502.215at p<0.05 for parameters like temperature, salinity, TDS and conductivity of the available water sources do not vary significantly in the area. Therefore, constant monitoring and assessment of physical water quality parameters, water treatment and assessment of bacteriological content and other relevant water parameters to holistically ascertain it suitability for adequate human use were recommended.

An innovative simulation algorithm for optimising the cost of communal water supply systems using EPANET

In this work, the EPANET software is used to parametrize the design, simulate and optimise the overall cost of building and running a reliable, sustainable and efficient communal Water Supply System. Considering a model community of forty houses with an average of six occupants per home, the developed optimization algorithm using the simulated annealing heuristics approach minimizes the total cost of continuous water distribution to the community through a system of pipe network in a way that satisfies the critical hydraulic rules and constraints for efficient water distribution. Thus, the controlled variables of the simulated system include volumetric flow, velocity and head loss. To realize the desired goal, the prototyped communal water distribution system was first simulated by water free fall i.e., only gravity feed under a peak demand flow condition. This facilitated the identification and localization of head-loss zones. Subsequently, virtual pump stations of various capacities were optimally introduced as boosters at identified nodal points to overcome critical head losses. The response of the system to varying capacities of the booster pumps was then used to analyse and determine the optimum capacity of the pump. Simulation outcome showed that the optimum least cost design for a sixtyyear system’s life cycle is achieved by using a combination of gravity and 5 hp (3.73 kW) pump with optimum pipe diameter ranging from 60 - 150mm.

Long term studying of uranium and radium-226 activity in drinking water in some regions of Ukraine and assessment of corresponding hypotetical irradiation doses

The article summarizes the activity concentrations data of 226Ra and the sum of uranium isotopes (∑U) in samples of drinking underground water for different regions of Ukraine studied during 1998–2023 in the radiation monitoring laboratory of the State Institution "O.M. Marzieiev Institute of Public Health National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine. Arithmetic mean and standard deviations, minimum and maximum values for 226Ra and ∑U activity concentrations are presented for the entire 1240 sample set and for each region separately. Collected data show that the established state permissible level for drinking water of 1.0 Bq/l is exceeded for 226Ra in 1.1% of the studied samples, and for ∑U—in 3.9% correspondingly. The detected high levels of 226Ra and ∑U activity concentrations correspond to certain regions belonging to the Ukrainian crystalline shield territory. A comparison of the current data with the data of previous studies held during of 1989–1991 indicates a significant difference: for the previous studies the average and standard deviations are much higher. We attribute this to the fact that the centralized sampling of previous studies was random, and it was related exclusively to communal water supply systems. At the same time, the current sample set covers a much larger number of regions, different water consumers; the data set includes the results of repeated studies for a large number of sources, in particular, sources with purified water. Hypothetical exposure doses caused by consumption of 226Ra and ∑U in water for the current sample set were estimated for different age groups for each sample studied, as is, without taking into account the pattern of water consumption. The corresponding dose exceeds the WHO recommended value of 0.1 mSv per year for children under the age of one year for 220 cases (17.7%). This dose limit excess for other age groups corresponds—for children: aged 12–17 years—13.1%, aged 1–2 years—7.4%, 7–12 years old—5.6%, 2–7 years old—3.9% and for adults—4.1%.

Corrigendum: The influence and continuance intention of the e-government system: a case study of community water supply business

Corrigendum: The influence and continuance intention of the e-government system: a case study of community water supply business