An Analysis of Household Perceptions of Water Costs across the United States: A Survey Based Approach

Research analyzing perceptions of water services has focused on water quality, water safety, and the propensity to consume water from different sources. It has not assessed perceptions of water costs. To address this knowledge gap, this study collected nationally representative survey data from households in the United States about water issues and incorporated these data into logistic regression models. In doing so, our study advances the water and public policy literature in three ways. One, it addresses the need for household resolution information about water issues given the absence of data at this scale in the United States. Two, it creates and utilizes one-of-a-kind survey data to understand the perceptions of household water bills and the drivers of these perceptions. Three, we assess the impact of proposed solutions to improve water affordability on household perceptions of water costs. Model results indicate low-income and households in underrepresented groups were more likely to perceive their water bills to be too high. The perception of water costs also varied geographically. From a policy perspective, model results indicate utilities can positively affect perceptions of water bills via the frequency of water billing and provision of payment assistance programs.

Spatial assessment of tap water safety in China and associated health impacts

The quality of municipal water supplies is of fundamental importance to public health and national security. Here, we assess the tap water quality in 31 provinces across China and examine the effects of natural and anthropogenic conditions on water quality and associated health risks. Precipitation is a crucial factor influencing the organic matter content and ionic conductivity in tap water, especially for arid and semi-arid regions. Although the concentration of disinfection byproducts (DBPs) is closely related to the organic matter content, the occurrence of highly toxic DBPs was more significantly affected by anthropogenic factors such as economic development and pollution emission. We confirmed nanofiltration as an effective point-of-use treatment to reduce the adverse effects of DBPs in public water supplies. Since DBPs in tap water is a long-term global problem, our results highlight the potential health hazards of drinking water brought about by social development and conclude that countries and regions with rapid development might face high DBP toxicity.

How does a primary school organize outdoor swimming and water safety lessons?

The main purpose of this study was to explore how a primary school organized a week with outdoor education, and especially what characterized the outdoor swimming and water safety (SWS)-lessons. The SWS-lessons were part of the physical education (PE) program. Two teachers and one headmaster from a primary school participated in the study. Four days of video observation of SWS-lessons were used in photo-elicitation interviews with teachers and the headmaster. The findings revealed that the headmaster highly prioritized the outdoor education practice in this school and that the teachers’ colleagues showed great eagerness to cooperate and prioritize these lessons. The week’s organization was characterized by collaborating management, and the outdoor SWS-lessons were characterized by experiential learning, challenge by choice, and risk awareness. The outdoor education practice corresponded well with the Norwegian curriculum goals about learning to be safe in, on, and around water.

Fear, Efficacy, and Environmental Health Risk Reporting: Complex Responses to Water Quality Test Results in Low-Income Communities

Reducing disease from unsafe drinking-water is a key environmental health objective in rural Sub-Saharan Africa, where water management is largely community-based. The effectiveness of environmental health risk reporting to motivate sustained behaviour change is contested but as efforts to increase rural drinking-water monitoring proceed, it is timely to ask how water quality information feedback can improve water safety management. Using cross-sectional (1457 households) and longitudinal (167 participants) surveys, semi-structured interviews (73 participants), and water quality monitoring (79 sites), we assess water safety perceptions and evaluate an information intervention through which Escherichia coli monitoring results were shared with water managers over a 1.5-year period in rural Kitui County, Kenya. We integrate the extended parallel process model and the precaution adoption process model to frame risk information processing and stages of behaviour change. We highlight that responses to risk communications are determined by the specificity, framing, and repetition of messaging and the self-efficacy of information recipients. Poverty threatscapes and gender norms hinder behaviour change, particularly at the household-level; however, test results can motivate supply-level managers to implement hazard control measures—with effectiveness and sustainability dependent on infrastructure, training, and ongoing resourcing. Our results have implications for rural development efforts and environmental risk reporting in low-income settings.

Trends in drowning mortality in Portugal from 1992 to 2019: comparing Global Burden of Disease and national data

IntroductionImprecise data systems hinder understanding of drowning burden, even in high-income countries like Portugal, that have a well-implemented death certificate system. Consequently, national studies on drowning mortality are scarce. We aimed to explore drowning mortality in Portugal using national data and to compare these to Global Burden of Disease (GBD) estimates.MethodsData were obtained from the National Institute of Statistics (INE) for 1992–2019, using International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-9 and ICD-10 codes, by sex, age group and cause (unintentional; water transport and intentional). GBD unintentional drowning data were obtained online. Age-standardised drowning rates were calculated and compared.ResultsINE data showed 6057 drowning deaths, 4327 classified as unintentional (75.2% male; 36.7% 35–64 years; 31.5% 65+years; 15.2% 0–19 years). Following 2001, an increase in accidental drowning mortality and corresponding decrease in undetermined intent was observed, coincident with Portugal’s ICD-10 implementation. GBD modelled estimates followed a downward trend at an overall rate of decrease of −0.41/decade (95% CI (−0.45 to –0.37); R2adj=0.94; p<0.05). Conversely, INE data showed an increase in the rate of drowning deaths over the last decade (0.35/decade; 95% CI (−0.18 to 0.89)). GBD estimates were significantly different from the INE dataset (alpha=0.05), either underestimating as much as 0.567*INE in 1996 or overestimating as much as 1.473*INE in 2011.ConclusionsWhile GBD mortality data estimates are valuable in the absence of routinely collected data, they smooth variations, concealing key advocacy opportunities. Investment in country-level drowning registries enables in-depth analysis of incident circumstances. Such data are essential to informing National Water Safety Plans.

Scuba diving-related fatalities in New Zealand, 2007 to 2016

Introduction: New Zealand (NZ) diving-related fatalities have been reported since the 1960s. The aim is to identify contributing risk factors, including medical, and to inform appropriate preventative strategies. Methods: NZ scuba diving fatalities from 2007 to 2016 were searched from multiple sources – the National Coronial Information System (NCIS); the NZ Chief Coroner’s office; Water Safety NZ Drownbase™ and the NZ Police National Dive Squad records. For inclusion, a victim must have been wearing a scuba set (which may include a rebreather). A key word search of the NCIS was made and the results matched to the other databases. An Excel® database was created and a chain of events analysis (CEA) conducted. Results: Forty-eight scuba diving fatalities were identified, 40 men and eight women, average age 47 years (range 17−68), 20 of Māori ethnicity. Thirty-five were classified as overweight (14) or obese (21). Pre-existing medical risk factors were identified, either pre dive or at autopsy, in 37 divers, the commonest being ischaemic heart disease (IHD, 20), left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH, 18) and hypertension (seven). IHD, LVH and obesity were variously associated with each other. The likely commonest disabling conditions, identified in 32 cases, were asphyxia (15), cardiac (nine) and pulmonary barotrauma/cerebral arterial gas embolism (five). Multiple environmental and diving practice breaches and poor planning were identified in the CEA, similar to those seen in other studies. Thirty-eight divers had not released their weight belt. Information on resuscitation was limited. Conclusions: Obesity and cardiovascular disease were common and Māori appear to be over-represented, both as previously reported.

Water sanitation, hygiene and the prevalence of diarrhea in the rural areas of the delta region of Myanmar

Myanmar is an agriculture-based country with 70% of the total population residing in rural areas. Around half of the total population in Myanmar has to consume water from unimproved sources. The prevalence of diarrhea due to contaminated drinking water is high even in urban areas. The urban community may expect the provision of municipal water supply in the near future if the current revolution in the country succeeds. However, the rural areas have lesser or no chance to get quality water because of a lot of other prioritized tasks. Household water treatment is encouraged to be implemented as one of the national water safety plans for rural water supply in Myanmar. This study explored the diarrhea prevention awareness of the rural community using a questionnaire survey. The microbial quality parameters of drinking water sources were also examined. Fecal coliform contamination was detected in all examined drinking water sources. A significant association was found between drinking untreated water and the occurrence of diarrhea. The percentage of people who applied the diarrhea preventive measures was low. Even if they knew how to prevent the disease, very few people applied the measures in reality. Therefore, measures to cause behavioral change should be initiated, together with awareness raising, to promote diarrhea prevention in the community.

STUDY OF TECHNICAL CELLULOSE AS A MATRIX-SORBENT TO DEVELOP EXPRESS ANALYTIC SYSTEM FOR WATER SAFETY CONTROL

The study presented by the authors is devoted to the study of the properties and the possibility of using technical cellulose from non-wood plant raw materials as a solid-phase matrix to obtain solid-phase reactive indicator systems by the following methods: synthesis method on the base of a hetarylformazane immobilized on a cellulose matrix and development of analytical systems based on preconcentration of the determined metal ion by a matrix with subsequent its «revealing» by the formazan («revealing» method). The article focuses on determination of optimal combinations of chromogenic organic reagents (hetarylformazanes) and cellulose-based matrices for developing solid-phase reaction-based indicator systems. Adsorption features of formazan reagents onto cellulose matrices was studied. It has been established the relation between the reagent molecule structure, composition of cellulose matrix and analytical properties of the test-systems synthesized to determine metal ions. Different approaches were developed and applied to reveal the visually observable and easily measured effect due to cellulose properties as well as properties of hetarylformazanes fixed on the surface of the matrix. This fact allows to control sensitivity and selectivity of solid-phase reactive indicator systems for water quality assessment.