Rural Drinking Water Research Articles

Examining Drinking Water Security in Rural Areas of Iran: Perspectives from a Quantitative Analysis

Water is one of the basic needs of individuals and communities. In a way, without it, the growth and sustainability of societies is not possible. In recent decades, due to the effects of climate change and human activities, many parts of the world have faced water-related crises. Hence, this issue has jeopardized the sustainability of villages, especially in developing countries. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to quantify drinking water security in rural areas of Iran during the years 2013-2019. For this purpose, this paper has developed a rural water security assessment framework with four dimensions and ten indicators. The scale of the rural water security index is between 1 and 5. Based on findings, three dimensions: “availability”, “accessibility”, and “water health and sanitation”, all show an upward trend, reflecting an overall improvement of water-related infrastructure in rural areas. Whereas the “economic value of water” dimension depicts a steady trend. Also for the period of 2013-2019, the results show the improvement of rural drinking water security in Iran.

Community Governance tensions of rural drinking water utilities in periurban territories (Chile)

Unlike the private concession model applied in urban zones, rural water sanitation services in Chile are managed by rural drinking water (RDW) committees or cooperatives, under a community governance model. This article seeks to understand the tensions and conflicts faced by RDW community governance in the peri-urban territories of regional capitals, which are at the frontier of the private drinking water management model. Based on a political ecology and hybrid governance approach, this research proposes the hypothesis that, on facing urban expansion and water scarcity, the neoliberal institutional framework tends to favour drinking water market governance in peri-urban territories. With this aim, and through semi-structured interviews and participatory observation, focusing on three RDW cases located in the peri-urban zone of Talca, this study develops a critical discourse analysis of community managers and government regulators, identifying their perceptions and positions on current socio-ecological transformations, and community governance tensions. Consistent with the proposed hypothesis, from discourse analysis, it is possible to infer the potential risks of privatization, derived from the implementation of Law No. 20,998, which regulates rural water sanitation services.

Discussion on the Construction and Operation Management System of Rural Drinking Water Safety Project

Discussion on the Construction and Operation Management System of Rural Drinking Water Safety Project

Social memory and infrastructure governance: a century in the life of a rural drinking water system

Abstract Even in advanced economies, underperforming infrastructure is a persistent rural development challenge, with the case of non-compliant small drinking water systems (SDWSs) especially concerning because of the importance of safe drinking water to human health. While technical and financial deficits are known contributors to SDWS underperformance in rural settings, the role of local cultural and social context in water governance are less clear. The need for interoperable concepts that help explain how local contextual factors influence rural water governance and operation motivates this study. Drawing on insights from community resilience and critical infrastructure scholarship, this study draws attention to a previously overlooked dimension of local infrastructure governance: social memory. Archival research and 25 semi-structured interviews with experts and local stakeholders inform the paper’s reconstruction of the 100 years history of an SDWS in rural Montana, USA and analysis of the contemporary social memory it has generated. The study finds that social memory acts as a medium through which the lived experience of infrastructure influences priorities and values about its governance, especially in the context of small towns. Three major themes in the dynamics of social memory of infrastructure are described, including longevity, aesthetic and material qualities, and articulation with economic trajectories. In addition to establishing social memory as an effective conceptualization of the generative influence of infrastructure in water governance at the local scale, the paper has implications for policy; specifically, the observation that in addition to financial and technical capacity, historical experience is a powerful driver of infrastructure governance and outcomes such as underperformance.

Risk assessment and water safety planning for rural water supply in Uttarakhand, India.

A water safety plan (WSP) has been developed for rural water supply in Dehradun district, Uttarakhand, India. Four public water utilities were chosen to demonstrate the application of WSP in improving the rural drinking water quality along with improved sanitation. Hazard identification and risk assessment carried out identified 10 hazardous events at all four utilities. Intermittent water supply, poor repair and maintenance of the supply channel machinery, and individual household sanitation practices were the potential sources of contamination. The study showed encouraging results, where the evaluated risks decreased substantially after implementing the control measures, along with improved water quality after WSP implementation which showed statistically significant results (p < .05) for all tested parameters, namely, turbidity (p = .000), total dissolved solids (p = .004), residual-free chlorine (p = .004), total coliforms (p = .000), and fecal coliforms (p = .003). The sanitation condition of water source and households also improved by adopting the suggested measures. The study recommends water safety planning, to empower the rural communities to safeguard their water sources, and for sustainable water supply management.

Long-term analysis of road salt loading and transport in a rural drinking water reservoir watershed

Chloride exports from the widespread application of road salt serve as a primary contribution to water body salinity in cold climate regions. Road salt pollution is a concern in drinking water supplies due to the relationship between chloride concentration and water corrosivity. In the Northeastern U.S., researchers and water quality managers are interested in better understanding how management practices can mitigate the negative effects of road salt pollution. This study uses regression-based chloride load estimates from LOADEST to produce mass balances and analyze transport flow-paths to the Wachusett Reservoir from a predominantly rural watershed. A chloride mass balance for 2000 through 2019 revealed that reservoir and watershed export only recently reached a level similar to estimated inputs from road salt (11,200 ton/yr). Results from hydrograph and load separation techniques show that average loading (4300 ± 1300 ton/yr) and discharge from baseflow (3.2 ± 0.9 m3/s) contributed approximately 74% and 65% of the total loading (5800 ± 1800 ton/yr) and discharge (4.93 ± 1.50 m3/s), respectively from water years 2001 through 2019. Approximately 40% of the total annual tributary load (30% baseflow; 10% runoff) occurred in the spring (March–May) and is attributed to elevated baseflow conditions from snowmelt. As indicated by a baseflow chloride index, baseflow concentrations are 14% greater than the total concentrations measured in the tributaries. Therefore, the baseflow-dominated tributary chloride loading is due to a combination of greater discharge and chloride concentration in baseflow as compared to direct surface runoff. However, a long-term trend analysis suggests a slightly increased fraction of chloride loading via overland flow in several reservoir tributaries, potentially indicative of late 20th century land development. This study offers a unique monitoring approach for management authorities to better assess road salt pollution in water systems. The decadal response of the reservoir system reflects the slow-moving nature of the baseflow-dominated chloride loading and suggests that measurable water quality improvements will only be realized with a sustained long-term decrease in the amount of road salt applied.

Peri-urban territories and rural water community governance in Chile

PurposeRural drinking water services in Chile are managed by Rural Drinking Water Associations (RDWAs) with a community governance model. However, urban growth and a neoliberal institutional setting tend to favor market-style governance, both in terms of territorial planning and drinking water supply, placing stress on the community governance model of RDWA. The authors seek to understand these processes and identify the position of RDWA actors facing socio-territorial and environmental transformations experienced in peri-urban sectors of the city of Talca (Chile).Design/methodology/approachThe authors used georeferenced data, participant and non-participant observation and semi-structured interviews. With these data, the authors analyzed the positions and discourses of water governance actors in relation to socio-territorial transformations in the peri-urban areas of the city, as well as for tensions between community and market governance.FindingsThe authors identified a growth tendency of RDWA users around the city of Talca due to a sharp drinking water demand increase in peri-urban territories. As such, the authors describe and contrast RWDA managers and governmental regulators' discourses regarding environmental and socio-territorial transformations. In these discourses, the authors found three critical topics: (1) land liberalization blurring urban territory borders; (2) Law #20998, a poorly financed reform which raises the specter of RDWA privatization, jeopardizing historic community drinking water management; and (3) the consequences of declining community commitment to RDWAs.Practical implicationsOne key implication of these findings is the need to modify RDWA pricing policies to deal with new rural inhabitant lifestyles and drinking water demands and to fulfill water basic needs of rural families, avoiding privatization risks. This change could help not only dealing with growing scarcity during global climate change, but could also provide financial resources to face new technical and administrative requirements of SSR Law.Originality/valueThe originality of the study comes from using a framework of governance tensions applied to water governance in peri-urban areas in a neoliberal institutional setting.

Nitrate management in a rural drinking water supply

Bench-scale biological denitrification experiments were performed to evaluate efficiency of a local agricultural waste product, cornstalk, as a carbon feedstock, compared to a traditional feedstock, acetate, and to ion exchange. Additionally, a rural drinking water supply was monitored over a 16-month period to determine nitrate concentrations and establish baseline water quality conditions in wells and in the distribution system. Over the monitoring program, four groundwater wells remained consistently below the 10 mg/L MAC for nitrate, while levels in a fifth supply well were consistently near or above the MAC, with an average concentration of 8.36 ± 4.26 mg/L NO3−-N. Nitrate concentrations in a local private well were also regularly above the MAC, averaging 13.94 ± 9.71 mg/L NO3−-N. CSMR levels at all sampling points were well above the threshold that indicates potential lead corrosion – a factor to consider when evaluating nitrate treatments. Acetate columns were highly effective, achieving 95% nitrate removal in groundwater. Cornstalk columns achieved removal rates of 35% and 49% by single columns and two columns in series, respectively. Results were compared to ion exchange using a commercial nitrate-selective resin. Removal of approximately 10 mg/L of nitrate from an initial concentration of 20 mg/L were achieved near 300–400 bed volumes; however, CSMR would be expected to increase by 0.34 for every mg/L of NO3−-N removed.

Performance and microbial characteristics of a novel pilot-scale tubing biological contact oxidation reactor for rural drinking water

Drinking water treatment under rural conditions often require compactness and portability. To address this, the present study developed a pilot-scale helical tubular biological contact oxidation (BCO) reactor filled with annular porous biofilm carriers (fillers). To determine the drinking water treatment efficiency and microbial characteristics, the system was investigated for 212 days at (24.1 ± 3.4) °C under different flow rates (1.86 L · h−1, 3.72 L · h−1, and 7.2 L · h−1) to treat simulated rural drinking water. The results show that (62.7 ± 9.3) % of ammonium (NH4+-N) and (19.5 ± 5.4) % of UV254 absorbance were removed by the BCO reactor after entering the stable operation period. It is shown that shorter hydraulic retention time (HRT) weakened the removals of tryptophan-like substances and fulvic acid according to the three-dimension fluorescence excitation emission matrix spectroscopy, with the removal ratios decreased from 90% to 0% when the HRT declined from 16.8 h to 4.2 h. Despite operating at regular room temperature ((24.1 ± 3.4) °C), the drinking water BCO reactor underwent a long start-up period (5.5 months) to reach a steady state in terms of biofilm concentration and pollutant removal performance. Genus Xanthobacter and Methylobacterium might significantly contribute to the removal of NOM in the BCO reactor, while genus Pedomicrobium and Bradyrhizobium were speculated to be responsible for nitrogen conversion. The present study provides new insights into the application of BCO reactors for ammonium and NOM removal from rural drinking water.

Coagulation combined with ultraviolet irradiation activated sodium percarbonate as pretreatment prior to ultrafiltration: Analysis of free radical oxidation mechanism and membrane fouling control

Novel pre-coagulation–sedimentation integrated with ultraviolet activated sodium percarbonate (SPC) (Fe(III)-UV/SPC) processes are promising methods for ultrafiltration (UF) pretreatment to ensure the safety of rural drinking water and mitigate UF membrane fouling. The process of surface water purification using the integrated coagulation-advanced oxidation processes (AOPs)-UF system relies on the idea that pre-coagulation can remove hydrophobic macromolecular organic compounds, thus facilitating the oxidation of hydrophilic molecules or medium-sized macromolecules to improve the utilization efficiency of free radicals in AOPs. Compared with the UV/SPC process, the removal rates of UV254 and DOC in the Fe(III)-UV/SPC process (Fe(III) = 0.1 mM, SPC = 0.5 mM) were increased from 87.39 % to 41.45 %–93.56 % and 52.51 %, respectively. Furthermore, the dosage of SPC was reduced from 0.75 mM in UV/SPC process to 0.5 mM due to effects of pre-coagulation. The free radical quenching experiment showed that a significant radical sink of reactions with organic contaminants was formed by •OH and CO3•- in the UV/SPC process, rather than a single specific radical. The destruction of the cake layer structure, reduction in contaminant concentration, and appearance of many permeable holes on the membrane surface were the main reasons for the alleviation of UF membrane fouling. Finally, the trans-membrane pressure and reversible membrane resistance decreased from 22.33 kPa to 3.68 × 1011 m−1 to 18.28 kPa and 0.93 × 1011 m−1, respectively. These results provide new insights into the behavior of membrane fouling control and offer technical references for the long-term stable operation of the UF process.

Ensuring access to water in an emergency context: Towards an overexploitation and contamination of water resources?

This article shows how geo-legal devices created to deal with environmental crisis situations make access to drinking water precarious and contribute to the overexploitation and contamination of water resources. It relies on qualitative methods (interviews, observations, archive work) to identify and analyse two geo-legal devices applied in the case study of the Elqui Valley in Chile. The first device, generated by the Declaration of Water Scarcity, allows private sanitation companies to concentrate water rights and extend their supply network, thus producing an overexploitation of water resources. In the context of mining pollution, the second device is structured around the implementation of the Rural Drinking Water Programme and the distribution of water by tankers, which has made access to drinking water more precarious for the population and does nothing to prevent pollution.

Evaluation of drinking water quality and non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risk assessment of heavy metals in rural areas of Kurdistan, Iran

Heavy metals and nitrates are important causes of groundwater pollution and threaten human health worldwide, so the purpose of this study is to determine the concentration of anions cations, and heavy metals in rural drinking water resources and to estimate the health risks (non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic) for children, women, and men Chemical analysis and testing were performed on 138 water samples taken from rural drinking water resources in Kurdistan, Iran. The health risk assessments were evaluated using hazard quotient (HQ), hazard index (HI), and lifetime cancer risk (CR) according to the methods recommended by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. It was found that, except for arsenic (max. concentration 54 mg/l) and nitrate (max. concentration 225 mg/l), the contents of other parameters were lower than the allowable standard levels assigned for drinking water. It should be mentioned that the amount of arsenic and nitrate in 10.8% and 14.5% of the samples exceeded the standard limit, respectively. Regarding fluoride, its concentration was lower than the minimum recommended standard in 80% of the samples with average concentration of 0.55 mg/l. The maximum HQ values for arsenic in men, women, and children in the study area were 4.73, 5.5, and 11, respectively. Similarly for nitrate were 0.55, 0.83, and 1.65, respectively, so that 40% of the water resources of some villages can have non-carcinogenic effects for children. The findings show that in a number of villages, consumers are at the carcinogenic risk of Arsenic. It can be concluded that arsenic and nitrate have been the cause of adverse health effects in the study areas. Therefore, various control programs such as reducing and monitoring the application of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, controlling agricultural runoff, replacing water resources, and household water treatment are recommended to protect the health of consumers.

Rural drinking water treatment system combining solar-powered electrocoagulation and a gravity-driven ceramic membrane bioreactor

Rural water treatment is generally more challenging than urban water treatment. This study proposed a novel rural water treatment system effectively harnessing solar energy and gravitational hydropower. Influent was initially fed to a solar-driven electrocoagulation unit, in which UV254 level was reduced (by almost 60%) and large flocs (averaging up to 66.2 μm in diameter) were formed. The effluent was then introduced to a gravity-driven ceramic membrane bioreactor (GDCMBR) at different water head differences (ΔH = 0.5 or 1.0 m). Generally, applying the greater water head difference (ΔH = 1.0 m) did not enhance removal of turbidity and organic matter, but it led to a reasonably high flux (25.9 L/m2/h). The GDCMBR enriched various useful microorganisms such as nitrifiers (Nitrospira bacteria), and denitrifiers (Diaphorobacter bacteria), enabling almost complete elimination of NH3-N and NO2–-N. Overall, the findings of this study suggest the possibility of sustainable operation during rural water treatment.

Optimizing Rural Drinking Water Supply Infrastructure to Account for Spatial Variations in Groundwater Quality and Household Welfare in Coastal Bangladesh

AbstractAchieving water security requires reconciling multiple objectives while prioritizing scarce resources for the provision of safe drinking water supplies. We examine decision‐making to invest in drinking water infrastructure in coastal Bangladesh where increasing saline intrusion in aquifers intersects with high levels of poverty for the 20 million people living in the coastal region. Multi‐objective optimization is used to explore the trade‐offs between two public policy goals: (a) maximizing overall access to improved water supplies (the greater good) and (b) maximizing access for the population with the lowest welfare (the greater need). To elucidate this trade‐off, we make use of groundwater salinity measurements, an extensive household survey and an audit of drinking water infrastructure in 1 out of Bangladesh’s 139 polders, which is home to nearly 60,000 people. We quantify the costs of a variety of drinking water supply options including deep tube wells, desalination plants, and piped systems. The recommended solutions are sequences of investments in water supply assets that are optimized to specified locations within the polder. The method is potentially scalable and transferrable to inform investments to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (Target 6.1) of universal access to safe and affordable drinking water.

District Drinking Water Planning for Sustainability in Maharashtra: Between Local and Global Scales

Sustainable rural drinking water is a widespread aim in India, and globally, from the household to district, state, and national scales. Sustainability issues in the rural drinking water sector range from increasing water demand to declining groundwater levels, premature deterioration of village schemes and services, inadequate revenues for operations and maintenance, weak capacity of water operators, frequently changing state and national policies, and destabilizing effects of climate change. This paper focuses on the special role of district-scale drinking water planning, which operates at the intersection between bottom-up water demand and top-down water programs. After surveying the challenges associated with bottom-up and top-down planning approaches, we present recent efforts to strengthen district and block drinking water planning in the state of Maharashtra. A combination of district interviews, institutional history, village surveys, GIS visualization, and planning workshops were used to advance district planning goals and methods. Results assess bottom-up processes of water demand; top-down water programs and finance; and intermediate-level planning at the district and block scales. Discussion focuses on potential improvements in district planning methods in Maharashtra.

WITHDRAWN: Investigation of drinking water quality and population health risk assessment in a poor rural area.

Ahead of Print article withdrawn by publisher.

Concentration, spatial distribution, and health risk assessment of fluoride in rural drinking water resources, North Khorasan Province, Iran

ABSTRACT Presence of fluoride in drinking water resources is one of the most important challenges related to water management and health issues. This study aimed to monitor the fluoride concentration in rural areas of North Khorasan province, Iran. During a seven-year sampling period, the water quality of over 500 points was assessed annually, based on SPADNS colorimetric method. The geostatistical analyses and spatial distribution of fluoride were performed through global Moran’s I index (spatial autocorrelation), and inverse distance weighting (IDW). In addition, the health impact probabilities of fluoride were evaluated via comparing concentrations with Iran national standard and the health risk assessment method recommended by EPA. According to the results, the measured concentrations of fluoride were in the range of 0–8.73 mg/L (average ± SD = 0.855 ± 0.458 mg/L). The lowest fluoride concentrations were determined in Esfarayen and Farouj counties (0.63 mg/L) and highest ones in Maneh Samalghan (0.9 mg/L). Moreover, Global Moran’s I was calculated to be close to zero, indicating a random distribution of fluoride throughout the province. The average THQs for adult and children age groups were 4.94 and 3.61, respectively, which showed a high non-carcinogenic risk for both adult and children age groups. However, the concentration of fluoride in all studied water resources has not exceeded the standard and was in a good condition. Therefore, it is necessary to control the excessive concentrations, especially in areas with higher amounts.

Catalytic wet peroxide oxidation to remove natural organic matter from real surface waters at urban and rural drinking water treatment plants

Al/Fe-pillared-clay-activated catalytic wet peroxide oxidation (CWPO) of dissolved natural organic matter (NOM) in real surface water streams at both urban drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) and rural plants (R) was investigated. The clay-catalyst prepared from technical-grade reagents exhibited textural properties quite comparable to those of the one obtained from analytical-grade, costly reagents. The mineralization of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) was improved to around 90 % under ambient conditions of temperature (10–19 °C) and pH (6.07–8.12), and not governed by adsorption of the complex on the catalyst’s surface. Optimal dose of hydrogen peroxide per unit mass of DOC and Fe in the solid was found to be 0.037 mg H2O2/mg C.mg Fe. The maximal efficiency of hydrogen peroxide consumption in the degradation of a synthetic surrogate of NOM (0.437 mg C/mg H2O2) was significantly enhanced in comparison with recent studies on phenol spiked solutions (≤0.124 mg C/mg H2O2), but also when real water samples were treated (0.176 mg C/mg H2O2), while the selectivity to DOC mineralization remained close to 90 %. Sulfates and chlorides in real surface waters showed the most detrimental effect on the DOC mineralization. The more cost-effective couplings of the Al/Fe-PILC-catalyzed CWPO treatment to improve urban drinking water treatment plants by promoting both DOC mineralization and improved H2O2 consumption as a function of the input SUVA254 were (raw water → CWPO → physicochemical treatment) for values < 2.0 dm3/mg DOC.m, and (raw water → physicochemical treatment → CWPO) for values > 2.0 dm3/mg DOC.m.

THE SOCIAL CLASS VARIATION IN HEALTH CARE EXPENDITURE: A CASE STUDY OF KHALLIKOTE BLOCK, GANJAM DISTRICT, ODISHA

This objective carries the primary data collected through a questionnaire from my study area and analyses of the impact of health care on the socio-economic development and the level of living of the social class families compared to other families. This also focuses on the problems and preferences of the health care expenditure burden of social class families. This present study was undertaken to investigate the existing health problems and healthcare practice of the social class (SC, ST, and OBC) communities of Khallikote Block in Ganjam District based on the present scenario, which exists between the SC, ST, and OBC groups. The findings of the study indicated that the demographic profile, socioeconomic status, general health status, but still lack of knowledge as well as poor availability of medical institution people intended to use traditional herbal medicine. The housing status of the social class community households needs to be improved through the help of village Panchayat should be oriented by Indira Awas yojana, and help of the people of construct good houses. It is necessary to provide orientation to village Panchayat about healthy housing and sanitation in the tribal communities. The village must be connected with the provision of “Rural Drinking Water” facilities in the social class village area, and villages to have safe drinking water in the villages as well in the community. The study has the following limitations: The study has depicted the current situation of the Khallikote Block in Odisha; the result may not be relevant to other class of people. The study is limited to a cross-section sample of 348 households of the selected sample villages in Langaleswar and Khojapalli Panchayat. It has been assumed that the respondents are true and honest while filling the questionnaire and there is no bias. Due to time and resource limitations, a full-length survey is not possible with a wider representation of data. Insurgency problem in the state created a problem for data collection from interior parts of the state. Despite these limitations, an attempt has been made to make the study more scientific and reliable by testing the reliability of the primary data. KEYWORDS: Health care expenditure, Income, cross-section sample, Regression, demographic profile.

Cause Analysis and Management Countermeasures for Unsafe Drinking Water Quality in Rural Guangxi China

In recent years, as China has been vigorously promoting the construction of drinking water safety project in rural areas, rural drinking water safety is guaranteed to some extent, but the safety of water quality is still not up to standard in some areas. In view of the situation of drinking water safety in rural Guangxi China, according to the authoritative judgment method of safe drinking water, this thesis analyzes the present situation of rural drinking water safety in Guangxi, and decides that the major causes of unsafe drinking water quality in rural Guangxi include the exceedance of content standard of hazardous substances in drinking water sources, pollution in transportation and treatment process of drinking water, lack of water quality monitoring ability and imperfect management mechanism after the completion of water supply project. Furthermore, the thesis proposes management strategies to improve the safety of water supply quality in rural Guangxi, such as the construction of consolidation and promotion project of rural drinking water safety, the implementation of contiguous water supply project, the establishment and perfection of engineering operating mechanism, the strengthening of quality supervision on rural drinking water safety projects, the use of Internet of Things and big data technique for real-time monitoring, the strengthening of the management on drinking water conservation districts, the improvement of water treatment technique and timely check and solving of the defects. The aim is to enable more rural people to drink safe water with the above management strategies.