scholarly journals Emerging pathogens and deliberate attacks on European water supplies: a scenario planning workshop

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 463-476
Author(s):  
Julii Brainard ◽  
Charlotte C. Hammer ◽  
Maha Bouzid ◽  
Paul R. Hunter ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Scenario Planning ◽  
Facility Management ◽  
Emerging Pathogens ◽  
Water Supplies ◽  
Water Utility ◽  
Protection Measures ◽  
Multi Stage ◽  
Utility Managers

Abstract Microbiological contamination of drinking water supplies is an ever-present concern for water utility managers. Most such threats are routine, well-recognised and described. Therefore, they can usually be prevented using standard protection measures. Incidents involving emerging pathogens and malicious attacks are inherently less predictable. In a multi-stage process over one day, participants with backgrounds in microbiology, medicine, infrastructure, data analysis, environmental or public health and facility management developed qualitative scenarios on potential threats posed by either an emergent pathogen in or a microbiological attack on drinking water supplies in a European country. Participants were guided via structured activities to identify key factors that would impact the magnitude and severity of such an emergency. Plausible variant states for each key factor were determined, and participants constructed sequences of events to create scenario outlines. Five scenarios in outline form are reported which incorporate genuine possible future events as well as pathogens of international concern. Common features that would exacerbate all scenarios were under-investment in public services, inadequate water quality testing, and monitoring and lack of resources to keep water supplies safe. Participant evaluation of their scenario planning experience was broadly very positive and the scenario planning process was received as credible and relevant.

A deterministic model to quantify pathogen loads in drinking water catchments: pathogen budget for the Wingecarribee

2005 ◽  
Vol 52 (8) ◽  
pp. 191-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.M. Ferguson ◽  
B. Croke ◽  
N.J. Ashbolt ◽  
D.A. Deere
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Deterministic Model ◽  
Fate And Transport ◽  
Management Options ◽  
Water Utility ◽  
Relative Significance ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Utility Managers ◽  
Different Sources ◽  
Water Catchments

This paper describes the development and testing of a mathematical model as a tool to quantify pathogen loads in Sydney's drinking water catchments. It has been used to identify, quantify and prioritise sources of Cryptosporidium, Giardia and E. coli in the Wingecarribee catchment. The pathogen model promotes understanding of the relative significance of different sources of pathogen risks as well as their fate and transport as they move through the subcatchments. This pathogen model not only enables water utility managers to identify those catchment segments that may contribute the highest load of pathogens, but also where management options will be most effective.

scholarly journals Evaluating the policy of listening to customer claims in a drinking water utility using fuzzy-AHP approach and WASPAS method

Water Policy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Faiza Bouchraki ◽  
Ali Berreksi ◽  
Samir Hamchaoui
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Decision Support ◽  
Fuzzy Ahp ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Quantitative Aspect ◽  
Decision Support Tools ◽  
Water Utility ◽  
Support Tools ◽  
Utility Managers ◽  
Made In

Abstract The objective of this work is to develop a decision support methodology intended for drinking water utility managers in order to support them in the challenge of achieving better performance in the management of the customer area. This methodology requires the prior collection of data for the identification of registered claims. Subsequently, an evaluation of the performance of the customer area defined by the objective ‘Better listening to customer claims’ will be carried out; this requires the structuring of the objective in a hierarchy based on indicators and the adoption of two adequate decision support tools, a fuzzy-AHP for weighting the elements and WASPAS for calculating the performance of the objective. An application is carried out on the water utility of the Wilaya of Bejaia (Algeria). The data collection enabled the identification of 19 types of claims divided into three aspects. The combination of fuzzy-AHP and WASPAS allowed assessment of the performance of the objective during the period 2014–2018 and to make a judgment on the national policy established. The results are satisfactory. Progress has been made in claims management, but the major difficulty lies in the claims processing relating to the quantitative aspect.

Enteric viruses in drinking water supplies

2002 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 17-22
Author(s):  
A.P. Wyn-Jones ◽  
J. Watkins ◽  
C. Francis ◽  
M. Laverick ◽  
J. Sellwood
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Heavy Rainfall ◽  
Liquid Culture ◽  
Plaque Assay ◽  
Enteric Viruses ◽  
Enteric Virus ◽  
The Other ◽  
Raw Water ◽  
Rt Pcr ◽  
Water Supplies

Two rural spring drinking water supplies were studied for their enteric virus levels. In one, serving about 30 dwellings, the water was chlorinated before distribution; in the other, which served a dairy and six dwellings the water was not treated. Samples of treated (40 l) and untreated (20 l) water were taken under normal and heavy rainfall conditions over a six weeks period and concentrated by adsorption/elution and organic flocculation. Infectious enterovirus in concentrates was detected in liquid culture and enumerated by plaque assay, both in BGM cells, and concentrates were also analysed by RT-PCR. Viruses were found in both raw water supplies. Rural supplies need to be analysed for viruses as well as bacterial and protozoan pathogens if the full microbial hazard is to be determined.

The assessment of biofilm community composition on plumbing materials in filtered and unfiltered water distribution systems

2003 ◽  
Vol 3 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 187-191
Author(s):  
M.M. Critchley ◽  
N.J. Cromar ◽  
H.J. Fallowfield
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Fatty Acid ◽  
Community Composition ◽  
Distribution Systems ◽  
Water Distribution ◽  
Water Distribution Systems ◽  
Polymer Materials ◽  
Fatty Acid Profiles ◽  
Water Supplies ◽  
Drinking Water Distribution Systems

Biofilms have been extensively characterised within drinking water distribution systems. However, the significance of materials on biofilm species diversity is not established. This study investigated the community composition of biofilms on plumbing materials receiving filtered and unfiltered water supplies. Biofilms were extracted from polybutylene, polyethylene, cross-linked polyethylene, unplasticised polyvinyl chloride and copper tubes in sampling rigs receiving Murray-Onkaparinga water before or after filtration. Biofilms were extracted and analysed for fatty acid composition using the FAME™ methodology. There were differences in the fatty acid profiles of biofilms and the respective water supplies, indicating differences in the attached and planktonic communities. The results also showed significant differences in the fatty acid profiles of biofilms on the polymer materials compared to copper, suggesting variations in biofilm populations on the different materials. The potential for materials to select for microbial populations has significant implications for the ecology of drinking water biofilms.

Water Quality and Health

1991 ◽  
Vol 23 (1-3) ◽  
pp. 201-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Kreisel
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Water Supply ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Pollution Control ◽  
Wastewater Reuse ◽  
Water Supplies ◽  
Minimum Quality Standards ◽  
Quality Guidelines

Water quality can affect human health in various ways: through breeding of vectors, presence of pathogenic protozoa, helminths, bacteria and viruses, or through inorganic and organic chemicals. While traditional concern has been with pathogens and gastro-intestinal diseases, chemical pollutants in drinking-water supplies have in many instances reached proportions which affect human health, especially in cases of chronic exposure. Treatment of drinking-water, often grossly inadequate in developing countries, is the last barrier of health protection, but control at source is more effective for pollution control. Several WHO programmes of the International Drinking-Water Supply and Sanitation Decade have stimulated awareness of the importance of water quality in public water supplies. Three main streams have been followed during the eighties: guidelines for drinking-water quality, guidelines for wastewater reuse and the monitoring of freshwater quality. Following massive investments in the community water supply sector to provide people with adequate quantities of drinking-water, it becomes more and more important to also guarantee minimum quality standards. This has been recognized by many water and health authorities in developing countries and, as a result, WHO cooperates with many of them in establishing water quality laboratories and pollution control programmes.

scholarly journals How Perceptions of Trust, Risk, Tap Water Quality, and Salience Characterize Drinking Water Choices

Hydrology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 49
Author(s):  
Madeline A. Grupper ◽  
Madeline E. Schreiber ◽  
Michael G. Sorice
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Risk Perceptions ◽  
Anthropogenic Impacts ◽  
Tap Water ◽  
Water Utilities ◽  
Global Changes ◽  
Water Utility ◽  
The Public ◽  
Water Behavior

Provision of safe drinking water by water utilities is challenged by disturbances to water quality that have become increasingly frequent due to global changes and anthropogenic impacts. Many water utilities are turning to adaptable and flexible strategies to allow for resilient management of drinking water supplies. The success of resilience-based management depends on, and is enabled by, positive relationships with the public. To understand how relationships between managers and communities spill over to in-home drinking water behavior, we examined the role of trust, risk perceptions, salience of drinking water, and water quality evaluations in the choice of in-home drinking water sources for a population in Roanoke Virginia. Using survey data, our study characterized patterns of in-home drinking water behavior and explored related perceptions to determine if residents’ perceptions of their water and the municipal water utility could be intuited from this behavior. We characterized drinking water behavior using a hierarchical cluster analysis and highlighted the importance of studying a range of drinking water patterns. Through analyses of variance, we found that people who drink more tap water have higher trust in their water managers, evaluate water quality more favorably, have lower risk perceptions, and pay less attention to changes in their tap water. Utility managers may gauge information about aspects of their relationships with communities by examining drinking water behavior, which can be used to inform their future interactions with the public, with the goal of increasing resilience and adaptability to external water supply threats.

Potential impacts of global warming on water resources in southern California

2003 ◽  
Vol 47 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 165-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Beuhler
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Surface Water ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Southern California ◽  
Salt Water ◽  
Scenario Planning ◽  
Potential Range ◽  
Water Supplies ◽  
Sea Levels ◽  
Rising Sea Levels

Global warming will have a significant impact on water resources within the 20 to 30-year planning period of many water projects. Arid and semi-arid regions such as Southern California are especially vulnerable to anticipated negative impacts of global warming on water resources. Long-range water facility planning must consider global climate change in the recommended mix of new facilities needed to meet future water requirements. The generally accepted impacts of global warming include increased temperature, rising sea levels, more frequent and severe floods and droughts, and a shift from snowfall to rain. Precipitation changes are more difficult to predict. For Southern California, these impacts will be especially severe on surface water supplies. Additionally, rising sea levels will exacerbate salt-water intrusion into freshwater and impact the quality of surface water supplies. Integrated water resources planning is emerging as a tool to develop water supplies and demand management strategies that are less vulnerable to the impacts of global warming. These tools include water conservation, reclamation, conjunctive use of surface and groundwater and desalination of brackish water and possibly seawater. Additionally, planning for future water needs should include explicit consideration of the potential range of global warming impacts through techniques such as scenario planning.

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