Status of risk-based approach and national framework for safe drinking water in small water supplies of the Nordic water sector

Access to safe drinking water and potential water degradation have played a role in many water-related investment arbitrations. This paper looks at two different types of investment cases that have emerged with an impact on water: First, it analyses cases that have arisen from privatizations in the water sector. They mainly concern problems connected with physical access to water and affordability. Second, it discusses cases concerning investments in other industries that have the potential to degrade water quality or to have a negative impact on the maritime environment. Using these typical constellations it focuses on the methodology tribunals adopt to deal with potential tensions between the right to water and investor rights.

Download Full-text

Estimating the burden of acute gastrointestinal illness due toGiardia, Cryptosporidium, Campylobacter, E. coliO157 and norovirus associated with private wells and small water systems in Canada

Epidemiology and Infection ◽

10.1017/s0950268815002071 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 144 (7) ◽

pp. 1355-1370 ◽

Cited By ~ 41

Author(s):

H. M. MURPHY ◽

M. K. THOMAS ◽

P. J. SCHMIDT ◽

D. T. MEDEIROS ◽

S. McFADYEN ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Drinking Water ◽

Developed Countries ◽

Water Systems ◽

Gastrointestinal Illness ◽

Health Concern ◽

Small Community ◽

Water Supplies ◽

Acute Gastrointestinal Illness ◽

Small Water

SUMMARYWaterborne illness related to the consumption of contaminated or inadequately treated water is a global public health concern. Although the magnitude of drinking water-related illnesses in developed countries is lower than that observed in developing regions of the world, drinking water is still responsible for a proportion of all cases of acute gastrointestinal illness (AGI) in Canada. The estimated burden of endemic AGI in Canada is 20·5 million cases annually – this estimate accounts for under-reporting and under-diagnosis. About 4 million of these cases are domestically acquired and foodborne, yet the proportion of waterborne cases is unknown. There is evidence that individuals served by private systems and small community systems may be more at risk of waterborne illness than those served by municipal drinking water systems in Canada. However, little is known regarding the contribution of these systems to the overall drinking water-related AGI burden in Canada. Private water supplies serve an estimated 12% of the Canadian population, or ~4·1 million people. An estimated 1·4 million (4·1%) people in Canada are served by small groundwater (2·6%) and surface water (1·5%) supplies. The objective of this research is to estimate the number of AGI cases attributable to water consumption from these supplies in Canada using a quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) approach. This provides a framework for others to develop burden of waterborne illness estimates for small water supplies. A multi-pathogen QMRA ofGiardia, Cryptosporidium, Campylobacter, E. coliO157 and norovirus, chosen as index waterborne pathogens, for various source water and treatment combinations was performed. It is estimated that 103 230 AGI cases per year are due to the presence of these five pathogens in drinking water from private and small community water systems in Canada. In addition to providing a mechanism to assess the potential burden of AGI attributed to small systems and private well water in Canada, this research supports the use of QMRA as an effective source attribution tool when there is a lack of randomized controlled trial data to evaluate the public health risk of an exposure source. QMRA is also a powerful tool for identifying existing knowledge gaps on the national scale to inform future surveillance and research efforts.

Download Full-text

Photocatalytic Enhancement for Solar Disinfection of Water: A Review

International Journal of Photoenergy ◽

10.1155/2011/798051 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 2011 ◽

pp. 1-12 ◽

Cited By ~ 136

Author(s):

J. Anthony Byrne ◽

Pilar A. Fernandez-Ibañez ◽

Patrick S. M. Dunlop ◽

Dheaya M. A. Alrousan ◽

Jeremy W. J. Hamilton

Keyword(s):

Drinking Water ◽

Low Cost ◽

Waterborne Diseases ◽

Safe Drinking Water ◽

Developing Regions ◽

Water Supplies ◽

Semiconductor Photocatalysis ◽

Solar Disinfection ◽

Clean Drinking Water

It is estimated that 884 million people lack access to improved water supplies. Many more are forced to rely on supplies that are microbiologically unsafe, resulting in a higher risk of waterborne diseases, including typhoid, hepatitis, polio, and cholera. Due to poor sanitation and lack of clean drinking water, there are around 4 billion cases of diarrhea each year resulting in 2.2 million deaths, most of these are children under five. While conventional interventions to improve water supplies are effective, there is increasing interest in household-based interventions to produce safe drinking water at an affordable cost for developing regions. Solar disinfection (SODIS) is a simple and low cost technique used to disinfect drinking water, where water is placed in transparent containers and exposed to sunlight for 6 hours. There are a number of parameters which affect the efficacy of SODIS, including the solar irradiance, the quality of the water, and the nature of the contamination. One approach to SODIS enhancement is the use of semiconductor photocatalysis to produce highly reactive species that can destroy organic pollutants and inactivate water pathogens. This paper presents a critical review concerning semiconductor photocatalysis as a potential enhancement technology for solar disinfection of water.

Download Full-text

Measuring the Impact of West Bengal Drinking Water Sector Improvement Project: A Baseline Study

10.22617/wps200410-2 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Aniceto C. Orbeta ◽

Neeta Pokhrel ◽

Saswati Ghosh Belliappa ◽

Saugata Dasgupta ◽

Arati Nandi

Keyword(s):

Drinking Water ◽

Impact Evaluation ◽

West Bengal ◽

Safe Drinking Water ◽

Water Sector ◽

Improvement Project ◽

Project Completion ◽

The Government ◽

The Impact ◽

North And South

Access to safe drinking water is a fundamental right of people. The West Bengal Drinking Water Sector Improvement Project is assisting the Government of West Bengal to provide safe, sustainable, and inclusive drinking water services to over 1.65 million people in the arsenic, fluoride, and salinity-affected areas of Bankura, North and South 24 Parganas, and Purba Medinipur districts. This publication sets the baseline of the project by providing the benchmark comparison of primary outcomes for the project and non-project households, before implementation, so that an impact evaluation can be carried out at project completion.

Download Full-text

Toxicological Basis for Drinking Water: Unreasonable Risk to Health Values

Journal of the American College of Toxicology ◽

10.3109/10915819209141870 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 325-329

Author(s):

Jennifer Orme Zavaleta

Keyword(s):

Drinking Water ◽

Environmental Protection Agency ◽

Health Effect ◽

Safe Drinking Water ◽

Adverse Health Effect ◽

Short Term ◽

Water Supplies ◽

Health Values ◽

Population Sensitivity

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administers the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) to ensure that the water obtained from a public water supply is safe to drink. Under the SDWA, EPA establishes enforceable maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for contaminants that may have an adverse health effect and are known or anticipated to occur in water. Occasionally, public water supplies are unable to meet the MCL at the time it becomes enforceable. The SDWA allows public water supplies to apply to the State for a temporary variance or exemption from an MCL(s) as long as the concentration of the contaminant(s) exceeding the MCL(s) does not result in an unreasonable risk to human health. EPA has developed guidance to assist States in determining what level above the MCL presents an unreasonable health risk. In developing this guidance, the toxicity exhibited by each regulated contaminant is evaluated individually. Consideration is also given to the available risk assessments (short-term and long-term) for each contaminant, comparing carcinogenic risks with noncarcinogenic assessments. Other factors that may be considered on a contaminant by contaminant basis include for example, past exposure and expected duration of the variance or exemption period, population sensitivity, and volatilization of the contaminant from drinking water.

Download Full-text