Community water system privatization and the water access crisis

Although the United States Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) theoretically ensures drinking water quality, recent studies have questioned the reliability and equity associated with community water system (CWS) service. This study aimed to identify SDWA violation differences (i.e., monitoring and reporting (MR) and health-based (HB)) between Virginia CWSs given associated service demographics, rurality, and system characteristics. A novel geospatial methodology delineated CWS service areas at the zip code scale to connect 2000 US Census demographics with 2006–2016 SDWA violations, with significant associations determined via negative binomial regression. The proportion of Black Americans within a service area was positively associated with the likelihood of HB violations. This effort supports the need for further investigation of racial and socioeconomic disparities in access to safe drinking water within the United States in particular and offers a geospatial strategy to explore demographics in other settings where data on infrastructure extents are limited. Further interdisciplinary efforts at multiple scales are necessary to identify the entwined causes for differential risks in adverse drinking water quality exposures and would be substantially strengthened by the mapping of official CWS service boundaries.

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Children drinking private well water have higher blood lead than those with city water

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.2002729117 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 117 (29) ◽

pp. 16898-16907 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Jacqueline MacDonald Gibson ◽

Michael Fisher ◽

Allison Clonch ◽

John M. MacDonald ◽

Philip J. Cook

Keyword(s):

Drinking Water ◽

Water System ◽

Blood Lead ◽

Water Source ◽

Drinking Water Source ◽

Source Information ◽

Community Water ◽

Pb Exposure ◽

City Water ◽

Private Wells

Although the Flint, Michigan, water crisis renewed concerns about lead (Pb) in city drinking water, little attention has been paid to Pb in private wells, which provide drinking water for 13% of the US population. This study evaluates the risk of Pb exposure in children in households relying on private wells. It is based on a curated dataset of blood Pb records from 59,483 North Carolina children matched with household water source information. We analyze the dataset for statistical associations between children’s blood Pb and household drinking water source. The analysis shows that children in homes relying on private wells have 25% increased odds (95% CI 6.2 to 48%,P< 0.01) of elevated blood Pb, compared with children in houses served by a community water system that is regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act. This increased Pb exposure is likely a result of corrosion of household plumbing and well components, because homes relying on private wells rarely treat their water to prevent corrosion. In contrast, corrosion control is required in regulated community water systems. These findings highlight the need for targeted outreach to prevent Pb exposure for the 42.5 million Americans depending on private wells for their drinking water.

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East African Community Water Vision. Regional Scenarios for Human - Natural Water System Transformations

SSRN Electronic Journal ◽

10.2139/ssrn.3526896 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Sylvia Tramberend ◽

Robert Burtscher ◽

Peter Burek ◽

Taher Kahil ◽

Günther Fischer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Natural Water ◽

Water System ◽

East African ◽

East African Community ◽

Community Water ◽

African Community

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Community outbreak of legionellosis and an environmental investigation into a community water system

Epidemiology and Infection ◽

10.1017/s0950268814001964 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 143 (6) ◽

pp. 1322-1331 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

P. D. COHN ◽

J. A. GLEASON ◽

E. RUDOWSKI ◽

S. M. TSAI ◽

C. A. GENESE ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Storage Tank ◽

Water System ◽

Quality Factors ◽

Water Utility ◽

Water Storage Tank ◽

Investigation Area ◽

Community Water ◽

Water Mains ◽

Geographical Cluster ◽

Outbreak Investigations

SUMMARYDuring two legionellosis outbreak investigations, one at a geriatric centre and the other in high-rise housing for seniors, it was observed that additional cases of legionellosis occurred in nearby smaller residential settings. This apparent geographical cluster of legionellosis occurred in the same general area of a community water storage tank. No potential airborne sources in or near the area could be identified, but a community water system storage tank that was centrally located among case residences spurred an investigation of water-quality factors in the identified investigation area. Conditions conducive forLegionellagrowth, particularly low chlorine residuals, were found. The rate of legionellosis among residents aged ⩾50 years in the investigation areas (61·0 and 64·1/100 000) was eight times higher than in the rest of the service area (9·0/100 000) and almost 20 times higher than the statewide annual average incidence rate (3·2/100 000). A water mains flushing programme in the area was launched by the water utility, and water samples taken before and during flushing foundL. pneumophila.

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