Abstract
The effects of drinking water system infrastructure on water quality and health following intrusion events have not been extensively studied. This study proposes a coupling of hydraulic and water-quality modeling with quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) to characterize microbial infection risks. Two networks were considered based on their network configuration. We assumed a continuous intrusion of enterovirus under three scenarios. The location of vulnerable and influential nodes in a looped and a branched network were compared, followed by a comparison of chlorine booster placement to reduce infection risks. The most vulnerable nodes in the branched network were generally downstream of the intrusion site, whereas those for the looped network were in the middle of the network due to tank dynamics. Influential injection nodes for the looped network were also in the middle of the network but mostly located at the upstream nodes for the branched network. A single chlorine booster yielded a risk reduction (47.6%) for the branched network, greater than for the looped network (nearly none). Two chlorine boosters reduced the looped network risks more notably (63%). The generalizability of these results to other networks likely depends upon specific network hydraulics and variability in municipal drinking water use. This work will help public water system managers in identifying vulnerable points in their distribution system and optimal locations for risk reduction strategy implementation.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
This research was funded by a grant from the Arizona Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) program. The content is the sole responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of Arizona AHEC. A.M. Wilson was supported in part by the Rocky Mountain Center for Occupational and Environmental Health (CDC/NIOSH T42/OH008414). This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIT) (No. 2021R1C1C2004896). The authors have no conflicts of interest or competing interests to report. M.P. Verhougstraete is a member of the Arizona Area Health Education (AHEC). A.M. Wilson and S. Lee led project development. S. Lee led model and code development, and A.M. Wilson led manuscript writing. A.M. Wilson and E. Cooksey co-led the proposal writing with guidance and support from D.L. Boccelli and M.P. Verhougstraete that funded this research in part. E. Cooksey contributed to the exposure modeling design. All authors contributed to manuscript writing and to discussions around the model distribution and scenario choices.
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Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management
Volume 148 • Issue 9 • September 2022
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© 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Dec 27, 2021
Accepted: Apr 30, 2022
Published online: Jul 6, 2022
Published in print: Sep 1, 2022
Discussion open until: Dec 6, 2022
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