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以化粪池系统的形式存在分布式废水系统，并且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，瓶装水作为一种分散的方式来提供安全的饮用水。然而，在发达国家，瓶装水的使用经常被嘲笑为浪费，并被批评没有比市政处理的自来水更安全（甚至可能更不安全）。那么，我们为什么要考虑更广泛地采用分布式方法来处理水资源的后果呢？首先，在世界上许多缺乏卫生基础设施和建设资源的地方，分布式方法已经成为现实。这些方法对水的使用和质量，以及更普遍地对依赖这些水的人类和生态系统的健康产生重大影响。此外，人们越来越多地考虑分布式系统来解决水资源短缺、偏远开发以及为消费和接触目的经济地提供高度纯净水的问题。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，如非接触式使用的灰水或雨水收集。采用这些方法有时既是出于经济考虑，也是出于可持续性考虑。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解决这些系统带来的风险，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描述与非传统配水方法相关的风险，原因有二：(1)不存在评估这些系统的人类健康风险和成本的全面研究；(2)缺乏描述和对比非传统配水与传统市政供水和废水服务风险的框架。拟议的研究将填补理解分布式水系统含义的重要空白，同时扩展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.