Quantifying Risk Implications of Distributed Approaches to Water Services Using a Technology-Policy Approach

在农村和欠发达地区，已经存在以化粪池系统形式存在的分布式废水系统，人们普遍认为这种系统效率低下，而且对水源构成危险。在自来水不能可靠饮用的地方，瓶装水是提供安全饮用水的分布式方法。然而，在发达国家，瓶装水的使用经常被嘲笑为浪费，并被批评为不安全（和潜在的不太安全）比经卫生处理的自来水。那么，我们为什么要考虑更广泛地采用分布式方法来解决水问题的后果呢？首先，在世界许多地方，分布式方法是一个现实，这些地方既缺乏卫生基础设施，也缺乏建造这些设施的资源。这些方法对水的使用和质量，以及更广泛地对依赖水的人类和生态系统的健康具有重大影响。此外，人们越来越多地考虑采用分布式系统来解决水资源短缺、偏远地区开发以及经济地提供高纯度水供消费和接触的问题。在分布式水系统的保护伞下，我们考虑了非传统的水分配方法，特别是双重系统，如灰水或雨水收集用于非接触式用途。这些办法有时是出于可持续性和经济原因而采用的。目前，这些系统没有得到监管的通报，这要么是因为还没有适当的监管来应对这些系统构成的风险，要么是因为它们被现有监管明确禁止。在这两种情况下，监管机构都无法充分说明与非传统供水方式相关的风险，原因有二：（1）没有评估这些系统的人类健康风险和成本的全面研究;（2）缺乏一个框架，用于说明和对比非传统供水方式与传统的供水和废水服务的风险。拟议的研究将填补一个重要的空白，了解分布式供水系统的影响，同时扩大文献定量风险评估和影响评估。

Distributed waste water systems already exist in rural and less developed areas in the form of septic systems, and are widely regarded as ineffective and a danger to source water. In places where tap water is not reliably potable, bottled water serves as a distributed approach to delivering safe drinking water. However, bottled water use in the developed world is often derided as wasteful and criticized for not being safer (and potentially being less safe) than municipally treated tap water. Why then, should we consider the ramifications of adopting a distributed approach to water more broadly? First, distributed approaches are a reality in many parts of the world, which lack both sanitation infrastructure and the resources to build them. These approaches have significant implications for the use and quality of water, and more generally for the health of humans and ecosystems which rely on that water. Moreover, distributed systems are increasingly being considered to address water scarcity, remote developments and the economic delivery of highly purified water for consumption and contact purposes. Under the umbrella of distributed water systems, we consider non-traditional approaches to water distribution, particularly dual systems, such as gray water or rain collection for non-contact uses. These approaches are sometimes adopted for sustainability reasons as much as for economic ones. At present, these systems are not informed by regulation, either because adequate regulations do not yet exist to address the risks posed by these systems or because they are explicitly banned by existing regulation. In both cases, regulatory bodies are unable to adequately characterize the risks associated with non-traditional approaches to water distribution for two reasons: (1) comprehensive studies evaluating the human health risks and costs of these systems do not exist and (2) they lack a framework for characterizing and contrasting the risk of non-traditional water distribution with traditional, municipally delivered water and waste water services. The proposed research will fill an important gap in understanding the implications of distributed water systems while extending literature on quantitative risk assessment and impact assessment.