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

农村和欠发达地区的分布式废水系统已经以化粪池系统的形式存在，被广泛认为是无效的和对水源的危险。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一种分布式方法。然而，发达国家的瓶装水使用经常被嘲笑为浪费，并受到批评，称其不比市政处理的自来水更安全(而且可能更不安全)。那么，为什么我们应该考虑在更广泛的范围内对水采取分布式方法的后果？首先，分散的做法在世界许多地区都是现实，这些地区既缺乏卫生基础设施，也缺乏建设卫生基础设施的资源。这些方法对水的使用和质量有重大影响，更广泛地说，对依赖水的人类和生态系统的健康有重大影响。此外，越来越多地考虑使用分布式系统来解决缺水、偏远开发和经济地提供高纯净水以供消费和接触的问题。在分布式水系统的保护伞下，我们考虑非传统的水分配方法，特别是双重系统，例如用于非接触用途的灰水或雨水收集。有时，采用这些方法既是出于经济原因，也是出于可持续性原因。目前，这些系统没有得到监管的通知，要么是因为还没有足够的监管来应对这些系统带来的风险，要么是因为现有的监管明确禁止了这些系统。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法有关的风险，原因有两个：(1)没有对这些系统的人体健康风险和成本进行全面评估的研究；(2)缺乏一个框架来说明和对比非传统供水与传统市政供水和废水服务的风险。拟议的研究将填补在理解分布式水系统的影响方面的一个重要空白，同时扩展关于定量风险评估和影响评估的文献。

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.