Assessing Performance and Capacity of US Drinking Water Systems
Publication: Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management
Volume 149, Issue 1
Abstract
Strong financial and operational underpinnings reduce risk to drinking water provision in the face of changing population, climate, and regulations. Because responsibility for oversight of drinking water systems in the United States is commonly divided across state agencies or subagencies, decision makers often are unable to assess a water system’s overall condition. Understanding correlations among different dimensions of performance is essential for assessing a water system’s ability to respond to stressors. We present a network-based method for characterizing multiple dimensions of a water system’s operations, combining data from several sources to describe the relationships between the dimensions within and across systems. Applying this method to North Carolina community water systems, we find that water systems face tradeoffs in balancing water affordability against the capacity to deliver drinking water reliably over the long term. Our approach can distinguish isolated water system vulnerabilities from those that signal more systemic challenges and help agencies responsible for water system compliance, funding, and planning coordinate their activities.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
The following data and code generated or used during the study are available from the corresponding author by request: compiled data, and code for compiling data and for visualization.
Acknowledgments
We thank the North Carolina State University Water Resources Research Institute and the Duke University Office of the Provost for their support of this research.
References
Abbott, M., and B. Cohen. 2009. “Productivity and efficiency in the water industry.” Util. Policy 17 (3–4): 233–244. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jup.2009.05.001.
Allaire, M., H. Wu, and U. Lall. 2018. “National trends in drinking water quality violations.” Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 115 (9): 2078–2083. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1719805115.
ASCE. 2016. Failure to act: Closing the infrastructure investment gap for America’s economic future. Reston, VA: ASCE.
Balazs, C. L., and I. Ray. 2014. “The drinking water disparities framework: On the origins and persistence of inequities in exposure.” Am. J. Public Health 104 (4): 603–611. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2013.301664.
Bicik, J., Z. Kapelan, C. Makropoulos, and D. A. Savić. 2011. “Pipe burst diagnostics using evidence theory.” J. Hydroinf. 13 (4): 596–608. https://doi.org/10.2166/hydro.2010.201.
Blanchard, C. S., and W. D. Eberle. 2013. “Technical, managerial, and financial capacity among small water systems.” J. Am. Water Works Assoc. 105 (5): E229–E235. https://doi.org/10.5942/jawwa.2013.105.0045.
Bluefield Research Center. 2017. “Pipe suppliers aim to capitalize on $300B municipal water opportunity.” Accessed September 9, 2019. https://www.bluefieldresearch.com/ns/pipe-suppliers-market-opportunity/.
Colohan, P., and K. Onda. 2022. “Water data for water science and management: Advancing an Internet of Water (IoW).” PLOS Water 1 (3): e0000017. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pwat.0000017.
Daley, D. M. 2009. “Interdisciplinary problems and agency boundaries: Exploring effective cross-agency collaboration.” J. Public Administration Res. Theory 19 (3): 477–493. https://doi.org/10.1093/jopart/mun020.
Daley, D. M., M. Mullin, and M. E. Rubado. 2014. “State agency discretion in a delegated federal program: Evidence from drinking water investment.” Publius 44 (4): 564–586. https://doi.org/10.1093/publius/pjt033.
Doyle, M. W., L. Patterson, E. Smull, and S. Warren. 2020. “Growing options for shrinking cities.” J. Am. Water Works Assoc. 112 (12): 56–66. https://doi.org/10.1002/awwa.1634.
Durso, F., and K. H. Colson. 2019. “North Carolina’s statewide water and wastewater infrastructure master plan: The road to viability.” In Southern City: 4th quarter, 31–43. Raleigh, NC: North Carolina State Water Infrastructure Authority.
Dziedzic, R. M., and B. W. Karney. 2014. “Water distribution system performance metrics.” Procedia Eng. 89 (Jan): 363–369. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2014.11.200.
EFC (Environmental Finance Center). 2019. “NC water and wastewater rates dashboard.” Accessed January 15, 2020. https://efc.sog.unc.edu/resource/north-carolina-water-and-wastewater-rates-dashboard.
Faust, K. M., D. M. Abraham, and D. DeLaurentis. 2017. “Coupled human and water infrastructure systems sector interdependencies: Framework evaluating the impact of cities experiencing urban decline.” J. Water Resour. Plann. Manage. 143 (8): 04017043. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)WR.1943-5452.0000794.
Faust, K. M., D. M. Abraham, and S. P. McElmurry. 2016. “Water and wastewater infrastructure management in shrinking cities.” Public Works Manage. Policy 21 (2): 128–156. https://doi.org/10.1177/1087724X15606737.
Fedinick, K. P., M. Wu, J. Mekela Panditharatne, and Erik D. Olson. 2017. Threats on tap: Widespread violations highlight need for investment in water infrastructure and protections. New York: Natural Resources Defense Council. http://ktvk.images.worldnow.com/library/d372ccb7-a023-4177-a362-75f7f05e918b.pdf.
Goddard, J. J., I. Ray, and C. Balazs. 2022. “How should water affordability be measured in the United States? A critical review.” Wiley Interdiscip. Rev.: Water 9 (1): e1573. https://doi.org/10.1002/wat2.1573.
Gonsenhauser, R., K. Hansen, W. Grimshaw, J. Morris, K. Albertin, and M. Mullin. 2020. “Digitizing a statewide map of community water system service areas.” J. Am. Water Works Assoc. 112 (10): 56–61. https://doi.org/10.1002/awwa.1595.
Greer, R. A. 2020. “A review of public water infrastructure financing in the United States.” Wiley Interdiscip. Rev.: Water 7 (5): e1472. https://doi.org/10.1002/wat2.1472.
Grigg, N. S. 1993. “New paradigm for coordination in water industry.” J. Water Resour. Plann. Manage. 199 (5): 572–587. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9496(1993)119:5(572).
Grigg, N. S. 2016. “Planning for integrative problem-solving.” In Integrated water resource management: An interdisciplinary approach, edited by N. S. Grigg, 67–98. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Hajkowicz, S., and K. Collins. 2007. “A review of multiple criteria analysis for water resource planning and management.” Water Resour. Manage. 21 (9): 1553–1566. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-006-9112-5.
Hanak, E., et al. 2012. Water and the California economy. San Francisco: Public Policy Institute of California.
Hansen, K., M. Mullin, and E. K. Riggs. 2020. “Collaboration risk and the choice to consolidate local government services.” Perspect. Public Manage. Governance 3 (3): 223–238. https://doi.org/10.1093/ppmgov/gvz017.
Head, B. W., and J. Alford. 2015. “Wicked problems: Implications for public policy and management.” Administration Soc. 47 (6): 711–739. https://doi.org/10.1177/0095399713481601.
Hester, C. M., and K. L. Larson. 2016. “Time-series analysis of water demands in three North Carolina cities.” J. Water Resour. Plann. Manage. 142 (8): 05016005. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)WR.1943-5452.0000659.
Hughes, S. 2022. “A multidimensional approach to evaluating the vulnerability of drinking water systems.” J. Environ. Plann. Policy Manage. 24 (2): 210–226. https://doi.org/10.1080/1523908X.2021.2000377.
Hughes, S., and M. Mullin. 2018. “Local water politics.” In The Oxford handbook of water politics and policy, edited by Ken Conca and Erika Weinthal. New York: Oxford University Press.
Hummel, D. 2019. “The crisis of water infrastructure in shrinking cities.” PA Times. Accessed October 14, 2020. https://patimes.org/the-crisis-of-water-infrastructure-in-shrinking-cities/.
Hunter, P. R., A. M. MacDonald, and R. C. Carter. 2010. “Water supply and health.” PLoS Med. 7 (11): e1000361. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000361.
Jacob, B., and R. Hendrick. 2012. “Assessing the financial condition of local governments.” In Vol. 11 of Handbook of local government fiscal health, 11–40. Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett Learning.
Jepson, W., et al. 2017. “Advancing human capabilities for water security: A relational approach.” Water Secur. 1 (Jul): 46–52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasec.2017.07.001.
Josset, L., M. Allaire, C. Hayek, J. Rising, C. Thomas, and U. Lall. 2019. “The US water data gap—A survey of state-level water data platforms to inform the development of a national water portal.” Earth’s Future 7 (4): 433–449. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018EF001063.
Kendy, E., et al. 2018. “Water transactions for streamflow restoration, water supply reliability, and rural economic vitality in the western United States.” J. Am. Water Resour. Assoc. 54 (2): 487–504. https://doi.org/10.1111/1752-1688.12619.
Kirchhoff, C. J., J. A. Flagg, Y. Zhuang, and B. Utemuratov. 2019. “Understanding and improving enforcement and compliance with drinking water standards.” Water Resour. Manage. 33 (5): 1647–1663. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-019-2189-4.
Koo, D., K. Piratla, and C. J. Matthews. 2015. “Towards sustainable water supply: Schematic development of big data collection using Internet of Things (IoT).” Procedia Eng. 118 (Jan): 489–497. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2015.08.465.
Kunkel, K. E., et al. 2020. “North Carolina climate science report.” Accessed December 8, 2020. North Carolina Institute for Climate Studies. https://ncics.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/NC_Climate_Science_Report_FullReport_Final_revised_September2020.pdf.
Marcillo, C. E., and L. H. Krometis. 2019. “Small towns, big challenges: Does rurality influence Safe Drinking Water Act compliance?” AWWA Water Sci. 1 (1): e1120. https://doi.org/10.1002/aws2.1120.
McDonald, Y. J., K. M. Anderson, M. D. Caballero, K. J. Ding, D. H. Fisher, C. P. Morkel, and E. L. Hill. 2022. “A systematic review of geospatial representation of United States community water systems.” AWWA Water Sci. 4 (1): e1266. https://doi.org/10.1002/aws2.1266.
McFarlane, K., and L. M. Harris. 2018. “Small systems, big challenges: Review of small drinking water system governance.” Environ. Rev. 26 (4): 378–395. https://doi.org/10.1139/er-2018-0033.
Miller, R., J. Guice, and D. Deere. 2009. Risk assessment for drinking water sources. Adelaide, Australia: Water Quality Research Australia.
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. 2019. “Water supply plans.” Accessed September 8, 2019. https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/waters/watermgmt_section/appropriations/eandc_plan.html.
Mullin, M. 2020. “The effects of drinking water service fragmentation on drought-related water security.” Science 368 (6488): 274–277. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aba7353.
NCDEQ (North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality). 2017. North Carolina’s statewide water and wastewater infrastructure master plan: The road to viability. Raleigh, NC: NCDEQ.
NCDEQ (North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality). 2020. “Local water supply planning.” Accessed October 28, 2020. https://www.ncwater.org/WUDC/app/LWSP/index.php.
NCDEQ (North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality). 2021. “Viable utilities.” Accessed July 11, 2021. https://deq.nc.gov/about/divisions/water-infrastructure/viable-utilities#what-are-the-assessment-and-identification-criteria.
NCDEQ (North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality). 2022. “Drinking water.” Accessed May 5, 2022. https://deq.nc.gov/about/divisions/water-resources/drinking-water.
North Carolina Climate Office. 2012. “Effects of climate change on the southeast.” Accessed September 8, 2019. https://climate.ncsu.edu/edu/Impacts.
North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center. 2015. “2015 impacts report.” Accessed July 12, 2021. https://webservices.ncleg.gov/ViewDocSiteFile/34158.
North Carolina State Climate Office. 2021. “Heatwaves: What are they?” NC Climate Education. Accessed July 12, 2021. https://climate.ncsu.edu/learn/heat-waves/.
Patterson, L., M. Doyle, K. King, and D. Monsama. 2017. Internet of water: Sharing and integrating water data for sustainability. Washington, DC: Aspen Institute.
Pierce, G., N. Chow, and J. R. DeShazo. 2020. “The case for state-level drinking water affordability programs: Conceptual and empirical evidence from California.” Util. Policy 63 (Apr): 101006. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jup.2020.101006.
Pierce, G., A. R. El-Khattabi, K. Gmoser-Daskalakis, and N. Chow. 2021. “Solutions to the problem of drinking water service affordability: A review of the evidence.” Wiley Interdiscip. Rev.: Water 8 (4): e1522. https://doi.org/10.1002/wat2.1522.
Pierce, G., H. McCann, and J. R. DeShazo. 2015. “Los Angeles county community water systems: Atlas and policy guide.” UCLA Luskin Center. https://innovation.luskin.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/LA_County_Community_Water_Systems.pdf.
Pincetl, S., E. Porse, and D. Cheng. 2016. “Fragmented flows: Water supply in Los Angeles County.” Environ. Manage. 58 (2): 208–222. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-016-0707-1.
Qureshi, N., and J. Shah. 2014. “Aging infrastructure and decreasing demand: A dilemma for water utilities.” J. Am. Water Works Assoc. 106 (1): 51–61. https://doi.org/10.5942/jawwa.2014.106.0013.
Raucher, R., J. Clements, E. Rothstein, J. Mastracchio, and Z. Green. 2019. Developing a new framework for household affordability and financial capability assessment in the water sector. Denver: American Water Works Association.
Schlef, K. E., and S. Steinschneider. 2018. “Spatiotemporal impacts of climate and demand on water supply in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint Basin.” J. Water Resour. Plann. Manage. 144 (2): 05017020. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)WR.1943-5452.0000865.
Scott, T. A., and R. A. Greer. 2019. “Polycentricity and the hollow state: Exploring shared personnel as a source of connectivity in fragmented urban systems.” Policy Stud. J. 47 (1): 52–76. https://doi.org/10.1111/psj.12289.
Scott, T. A., T. Moldogaziev, and R. A. Greer. 2018. “Drink what you can pay for: Financing infrastructure in a fragmented water system.” Urban Stud. 55 (13): 2821–2837. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098017729092.
Setty, K., R. McConnell, R. Raucher, and J. Bartram. 2019. “Comparative evaluation of risk management frameworks for US source waters.” AWWA Water Sci. 1 (1): e1125. https://doi.org/10.1002/aws2.1125.
Stewart, M. G., X. Wang, and M. N. Nguyen. 2011. “Climate change impact and risks of concrete infrastructure deterioration.” Eng. Struct. 33 (4): 1326–1337. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2011.01.010.
Stillo, F., and J. MacDonald Gibson. 2017. “Exposure to contaminated drinking water and health disparities in North Carolina.” Am. J. Public Health 107 (1): 180–185. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2016.303482.
Swain, M., E. McKinney, and L. Susskind. 2020. “Water shutoffs in older American cities: Causes, extent, and remedies.” J. Plann. Educ. Res. (Feb). https://doi.org/10.1177/0739456X20904431.
Switzer, D., M. P. Teodoro, and S. Karasik. 2016. “The human capital resource challenge: Recognizing and overcoming small utility workforce obstacles.” J. Am. Water Works Assoc. 108 (8): E416–E424. https://doi.org/10.5942/jawwa.2016.108.0093.
Teodoro, M. P. 2014. “When professionals lead: Executive management, normative isomorphism, and policy implementation.” J. Public Administration Res. Theory 24 (4): 983–1004. https://doi.org/10.1093/jopart/muu039.
Teodoro, M. P. 2018. “Measuring household affordability for water and sewer utilities.” J. Am. Water Works Assoc. 110 (1): 13–24. https://doi.org/10.5942/jawwa.2018.110.0002.
Teodoro, M. P., and R. R. Saywitz. 2020. “Water and sewer affordability in the United States: A 2019 update.” AWWA Water Sci. 2 (2): e1176. https://doi.org/10.1002/aws2.1176.
Texas Water Development Board. 2017. “2017 Texas State Water Plan.” Accessed September 8, 2019. https://2017.texasstatewaterplan.org/statewide?.
USEPA. 2004. “Understanding the Safe Drinking Water Act.” Accessed September 9, 2019. https://www.epa.gov/sdwa/overview-safe-drinking-water-act.
USEPA. 2017. “Safe drinking water search for the State of North Carolina.” Accessed September 9, 2019. https://iaspub.epa.gov/enviro/sdw_form_v3.create_page?state_abbr=NC.
USEPA. 2020. “Information for states about building the capacity of drinking water systems.” Accessed January 11, 2020. https://www.epa.gov/dwcapacity/information-states-about-building-capacity-709drinking-water-systems.
VanDerslice, J. 2011. “Drinking water infrastructure and environmental disparities: Evidence and methodological considerations.” Supplement, Am. J. Public Health 101 (S1): 109–114. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2011.300189.
Vedachalam, S., D. L. Kay, and S. J. Riha. 2014. “Capital investment and privatization: Public opinion on issues related to water and wastewater infrastructure.” Public Works Manage. Policy 19 (2): 118–147. https://doi.org/10.1177/1087724X13500240.
Walton, B. 2020. “North Carolina, in early stages of financial review, sees potentially large number of distressed water systems.” Circle of Blue. Accessed May 11, 2020. https://www.circleofblue.org/2020/world/north-carolina-in-early-stages-of-financial-review-sees-potentially-large-number-of-distressed-water-systems/.
Wasserman, S., and K. Faust. 1994. Social network analysis: Methods and applications. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management
Volume 149 • Issue 1 • January 2023
Copyright
© 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 21, 2020
Accepted: Jun 10, 2022
Published online: Oct 18, 2022
Published in print: Jan 1, 2023
Discussion open until: Mar 18, 2023
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.
Cited by
- Koorosh Azizi, George M. Hornberger, Jacopo Baggio, Elizabeth A. Koebele, John M. Anderies, Margaret Garcia, Identifying Conditions that Support the Provision of High-Quality and Affordable Urban Drinking Water in the US, Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management, 10.1061/JWRMD5.WRENG-6289, 150, 8, (2024).