Exploring Why Some Household Water Treatment Systems Are Successful: A Holistic Approach to Motivators and Barriers of Adoption in Developing Economies
Publication: Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management
Volume 149, Issue 11
Abstract
Lack of access to potable drinking water is a crucial problem faced by many communities globally, especially poverty-stricken rural regions and urban and peri-urban settlements. Consumption of contaminated drinking water leads to both chronic and acute health consequences, especially in the case of young children and immunocompromised individuals. The sixth UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) seeks to provide universal access to safe drinking water by the year 2030. Household water treatment systems (HWTSs), such as membrane filters and chlorination tablets, have been researched and proposed as solutions for water treatment in developing economies for decades because they can provide localized solutions that best fit the context of the community of intervention. Despite increased resources, funding, and effort, many HWTSs fail long-term, sustained implementation in developing economies. This study takes a holistic approach, considering factors from both the technical and operational environment to identify factors and circumstances that inhibit these treatment technologies. Results from an analysis of 30 articles show that studies predominantly focus on factors related to system design and performance (e.g., contaminant removal efficacy, system flow rate, impact of turbidity). Many studies also focus on factors surrounding user perception and behavior. Factors with lower coverage in the data set relate to operation and maintenance, financial sustainability, supply chain, and the legal and regulatory structures. These findings are situated within a holistic conceptual framework that serves as a resource for knowledge transfer and can be updated to fit a variety of contexts.
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Data Availability Statement
Some data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
We acknowledge the financial support from the UT Energy Institute.
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Published In
Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management
Volume 149 • Issue 11 • November 2023
Copyright
© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jul 18, 2022
Accepted: Jul 13, 2023
Published online: Sep 12, 2023
Published in print: Nov 1, 2023
Discussion open until: Feb 12, 2024
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Business management
- Drinking water
- Drinking water treatment
- Environmental engineering
- Groundwater
- Infrastructure
- Motivation
- Personnel management
- Pollution
- Practice and Profession
- Sustainable development
- Urban and regional development
- Water (by type)
- Water and water resources
- Water management
- Water pollution
- Water table
- Water treatment
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