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.

Not All Disasters Are Created Equal: An Evaluation of Water Issues in Fire and Hurricane Media Coverage in the United States

Water resources are greatly impacted by natural disasters, but very little is known about how these issues are portrayed in the media across different types of disasters. Using a corpus of over 600 thousand local newspaper articles, this research evaluates whether the amount of coverage of water-related concerns of fires and hurricanes reflects news values associated with magnitude and proximity. A more detailed analysis focused on wildfires, which occur on undeveloped land and have the potential to spread rapidly, was also conducted to further evaluate spatial patterns in disaster-related water coverage. Our results indicate that the newspaper coverage patterns for water issues are not equally connected to magnitude and proximity values for fires and hurricanes. In our sample, coverage of water issues in relation to fires and wildfires consistently had an inverse relationship with overall event magnitudes, whereas the coverage of water issues in relation to hurricanes demonstrated a positive correlation. Although wildfires are more likely to be clustered in the western part of the country, there was a lack of positive correlations with wildfire magnitudes in this region. Possible influences for these patterns (e.g., limited impacts to humans and lack of shock-value) are discussed. Given the media’s role in facilitating disaster management and recovery, these nuances in coverage variations provide insight into opportunities for informing water security, which is especially important given the increasing frequency of natural disasters.

Water Security: A Geospatial Framework for Urban Water Resilience

Urban water issues impacting sustainable development can be analyzed, modeled, and mapped through cutting-edge geospatial technologies; however, the water sector in developing countries suffers various spatial data-related problems such as limited coverage, unreliable data, limited coordination, and sharing. Available spatial data is limited to the aggregate level (i.e., National, State, and District level) and lacks details to make informed policy decisions and allocations. Despite significant advancements in geospatial technologies, its application and integration at the policy and decision-making level are seldom. The current research provides a unique, holistic Geospatial Framework to measure and monitor water security through geospatial technologies. The study demonstrates the application of the proposed Geospatial Framework from technical and institutional perspectives in water-stressed zones in Pune city showing where and how to solve problems and where proposed actions can have the most impact on creating a sustainable water-secured future. The research encourages cross-disciplinary collaboration, decentralized activity, employing traditional and indigenous knowledge, green infrastructure, watershed management, and nature-based solutions through Geospatial Framework to solve the primary challenges of water and build our cities' resilience. The current research can collaborate with Municipal Corporation mutually beneficial and work towards open-linked geospatial data for water security.

Review on Emerging Waterborne Pathogens in Africa: The Case of Cryptosporidium

Water-related diseases, particularly waterborne diseases, remain significant sources of morbidity and mortality worldwide but especially in developing countries. Emerging waterborne pathogens represent a major health risk. Cryptosporidium is one such pathogen which is globally recognized as a major cause of diarrhea in children and adults. The objective of this paper is not only to review published studies on the impact of these emerging waterborne pathogens but also to identify the various risk factors that favor their transmission. A number of envisaged and needed actions to tackle the challenge of these pathogens in Africa have also been discussed. We have searched the web of ScienceDirect, PubMed, Scopus. ISI Web of Science, SpringerLink, and Google Scholar. The first database search yielded 3099 articles. As a result, 141 studies were submitted for abstract review. A total of 68 articles were selected for full text analysis. After evaluating a considerable number of articles on this topic, the following results were obtained. A number of pathogens are likely to present public health risks, including Cryptosporidium. The contaminating potential of these pathogens is associated with a multitude of factors, such as the effects of climate change, social and behavioral aspects of local populations, water issues, geographical locations that may cause isolation, and inequalities due to lack of transparency of governments in the distribution of financial resources. We stress the need to maintain and strengthen real-time surveillance and rapid epidemiological responses to outbreaks and the emergence of new waterborne pathogens in all countries. African governments, for their part, should be aware of future risks of waterborne protozoan diseases. They must provide immediate and effective responses by establishing technical and financial mechanisms to ensure sufficient quantities of safe drinking water, sewage disposal, and hygiene for all.

The Social organization of urban water heritage and its contribution to the management of scarcity in the southern cities of Morocco: التنظيم الاجتماعي للموروث المائي العمراني وإسهامه في تدبير الندرة بمدن الجنوب المغربي

This short topic talks about the issue of the social organization of the urban water heritage and its contribution to the management of scarcity in the southern cities of Morocco. We have identified this title so as to highlight the importance of water in recent years in the context of heated debate about the future of this vital material in Morocco because of the rapid climate changes that Morocco can live in the future for water scarcity, if it does not have a unified strategy to face All problems related to water scarcity، in the case of what the sky was not merciful. Therefore, I will try to study the forms of dealing with water issues in relation to the problems of scarcity through the creation of traditional social organizations and administrative and architectural techniques Contributed to positive adaptation with constraints the natural environment that does not help human stability.

Professor R.B. Singh (1955-2021), an Icon of Indian Geography: A Passage on the Path of Lineage, Legacy and Liminality

Professor R.B. Singh (1955-2021) had been the first Indian Geographer to have the dual distinction of holding the position of the IGU Secretary General and ICSU Scientific Committee Member. He was the first Indian and second Asian Secretary General and Treasurer of the IGU (2018-2022). Professor Singh was a distinguished geographer of 21st Century India who had made distinct academic contributions over the last five decades, illustrated with publishing 16 books, 40 anthologies, and around 260 research papers. He has covered and profusely published researches in 11 fields—Environmental Studies, Geoecology; Land resources, Land use/ Land cover; Water issues, Hydrology; Disaster, Natural Hazard; Quality of Life, Livelihood; Climatic Change, Air Pollution study; Urban Environment, Health, and wellbeing; Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); Environmental Monitoring; Geography, Development Studies R-U; Mountain Studies, Forestry, Tourism; and RS, GIS, Recent trends appraisal. He had supervised 39 PhD and 81 MPhil dissertations. This paper presents an appraisal of his life journey on the path of Lineage, Legacy and Liminality—a type of biographical highlights in the frame of his practising geography, while also emphasising various niches, distinctions, networks, and collaborative programmes.

Features of Water Diplomacy in Central Asia

Water issues are traditionally one of the most complex and controversial issues in Central Asia. Over the 30 years since independence, the five republics have not been able to come to a single agreement on the use of water resources. Mainly because their interests do not coincide. The region is conventionally divided into agricultural and energy republics. Some need to irrigate their lands, others are interested in producing electricity. Each of the five republics strives to take into account primarily its own interests, sometimes disregarding the interests of its neighbors. The article deals with the problems of the development of water diplomacy between the states of Central Asia. It is noted that this problem is relevant for the region due to the peculiarities of the position and legal regime of transboundary rivers in Central Asia.

Climate Change and Water Dynamics in Rural Uganda

The purpose of this case study is to examine the effects of climate change on agricultural life in rural Uganda. Based on primary data, the authors examine major themes related to climate change and disasters as conveyed by individuals in a small agricultural region in Eastern Uganda. Specifically, we focus on the effects of living in constant threat of flooding and landslides. Results show that water is a major source of loss for most people, ranging from crop loss to contaminated water. Findings also point to the chronic nature of dealing with water issues, as opposed to acute. Further, our results indicate that disasters are a great equalizer among affected populations, with only neighbors to depend on in the aftermath.