Health-related economic benefits of universal access to piped water in Arctic communities: Estimates for the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region of Alaska

Fuente, David; Mosites, Emily; Bressler, Sara; Eichelberger, Laura; Lefferts, Brian; January, Gerald; Singleton, Rosalyn; Thomas, Timothy K.

doi:10.1016/j.ijheh.2021.113915

Cited by 6 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 29 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In smaller communities, water haulers transport potable water via small tanks and ATVs from the central water treatment plant to residents’ homes. Without water haulers, residents of rural Alaska communities would likely need to haul their own water, creating a labor burden, as well as a significant barrier to access for many residents. , Indeed, water haulers directly impact service provision in communities that utilize the hauled water distribution process. As shown in Figure , a major finding emergesworker retention impacts water provision via hauled distribution.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Stakeholder-Systems Analysis of Water Provision in Rural Alaska

LaPatin,

Ritsch,

Armanios

et al. 2024

ACS EST Water

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

People are paramount in the operations of water infrastructure systems. While such processes are similar throughout most communities in the United States, including treatment and distribution, each community encounters localized challenges. In the Yukon−Kuskokwim (YK) Delta of Alaska, specifically, water sector professionals (e.g., water plant operators and water haulers) encounter unique and extreme challenges. The harsh arctic weather makes road navigation dangerous for water haulers, and water plant operators must contend with a precarious supply chain when ordering supplies for maintenance. Such challenges can disrupt water provision for communities. In this study, we analyze semistructured interviews with 24 Alaska water sector professionals, using qualitative content analysis and semicognitive mapping. We built a conceptual integration of systems and stakeholder theory to identify barriers to water provision and leverage points for improvement. We examine three components of the water provision process in rural Alaska communities: water treatment, hauled water distribution, and piped water distribution. We show that to increase workforce retention, limit worker burnout, and ensure reliable water provision, practices including training and certification need to become more localized. Moreover, working conditions and operating environment around the worker need to be more central in water system considerations, especially for water hauling, where workers play a critical role in water distribution. This analysis reveals a key conclusion that underlies all our propositions: people are a leverage point for water provision improvement. In so doing, we contribute to the literature in public administration and bureaucracy, sociotechnical systems, and stakeholder theory as applied to infrastructure systems, more generally, and water systems, more specifically.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Stakeholder-Systems Analysis of Water Provision in Rural Alaska

LaPatin,

Ritsch,

Armanios

et al. 2024

ACS EST Water

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Studies suggest that water could restrain economic development through hydro-economic links if water decouples with economic development. For example, water supply disruption [ 26 ] and water-related public health [ 27 ] could raise direct economic losses. Through resource nexus, water could exacerbate conflicts among different users, thus further dampening economic development [ 28 , 29 ].…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does Water Matter? The Impact of Water Vulnerability on Corporate Financial Performance

Zheng

Wang

et al. 2022

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study aims to understand the potential relationship between water vulnerability and corporate financial performance for listed companies in China. Studies have argued that water risk has begun to affect the sustainability of firms, but few studies have included water conditions in the research framework to examine whether and how water conditions have a direct impact on firms. In addition, studies on environment governance have emphasized the impact of government environmental regulation on firms. This study focuses on both regulation and government investments that have been previously neglected. Using a sample of Chinese listed companies from 2016 to 2020, this paper uses pooled cross-sectional regressions with year and industry fixed effects to examine the effects of water vulnerability on corporate financial performance and analyze the mechanism of government water governance (which can be divided into water regulation and water investment) on the relationship between water vulnerability and corporate financial performance. This study finds that water vulnerability could negatively impact corporate financial performance, and water regulation can intensify but water investment couldn’t significantly relieve the negative impact. The relationships above differ between SOEs and non-SOEs and water-intensive and non-water-intensive industries.

show abstract

Access to Water Service Modalities in Rural Alaska: Understanding Community Experiences and Perceptions

Tariq,

Ritsch,

Mehendale

et al. 2024

ACS EST Water

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Households in rural Alaska rely on various water service modalities to meet daily needs. The level of service provided impacts end-users' ability to access and benefit from their services. Furthermore, the degree of responsibility placed on end-users for the collection, storage, and maintenance of systems varies by water service modality. Centering end-users' experiences and preferences in water management helps ensure that water infrastructure solutions align with community needs, priorities, and capabilities. To that end, we compare end-users' experiences with different water service modalities and perceptions of service in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, one of the most underserved regions in the United States. We then explore associations between experiences and sociodemographic and geographic community characteristics to identify potential inequities or factors impacting end-users' access to water. We conducted a qualitative content analysis of 41 semistructured interviews with 50 end-users residing in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. Findings show that end-users frequently struggle with service disruptions and affordability, especially hauled water users. End-users also expressed aesthetic concerns related to the taste of chlorinated water, leading them to use potentially unsafe water service modalities for consumption. Better understanding of public perceptions allows us to center community needs when improving access to water services.

show abstract

Health-related economic benefits of universal access to piped water in Arctic communities: Estimates for the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region of Alaska

Cited by 6 publications

References 29 publications

A Stakeholder-Systems Analysis of Water Provision in Rural Alaska

A Stakeholder-Systems Analysis of Water Provision in Rural Alaska

Does Water Matter? The Impact of Water Vulnerability on Corporate Financial Performance

Access to Water Service Modalities in Rural Alaska: Understanding Community Experiences and Perceptions

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About