Resilience in Water Infrastructures: A Review of Challenges and Adoption Strategies

Abstract

An increase in the number and strength of natural catastrophes experienced over the past few decades has accelerated the damage sustained by infrastructures. Drinking water and wastewater infrastructure systems are critical aspects of a healthy environment, and their ability to withstand disasters is vital for effective disaster response and recovery. Although numerous studies have been conducted to determine the challenges that natural disasters render to water infrastructures, few extensive examinations of these challenges have been conducted. The goal of this study, therefore, was to identify and categorize the challenges related to the resilience of drinking water and wastewater infrastructures, and to determine the strategies that most effectively minimize their unintended consequences. A comprehensive evaluation of the existing literature was conducted, and 537 publications were collected. After extensive screening, 222 publications were selected for rigorous evaluation and analysis based on the data collection methods and other criteria. A total of fifty-one (51) challenges were determined and classified, within the following five categories: environmental, technical and infrastructure, social, organizational, and financial and economic. The challenges were then ranked within each category according to their frequency of occurrence in previous research. The results reveal that climate change, aging infrastructure, lack of infrastructure capital, population growth, improper maintenance of water infrastructure, and rapid urbanization are the most frequently cited challenges. Next, 30 strategies and approaches were identified and categorized into either preventive or corrective actions, according to their implementation time. The findings of this study will help decision- and policymakers properly allocate their limited funding to enhance the robustness of their water infrastructures before, during, and after natural hazards.

Impact of changes in average temperature and land cover on components of the water balance in the Teatinos River basin, Páramo Rabanal, Colombia

“…2. Water� shed resilience mechanisms should �e studied to conser�e the water su��ly in res�onse to glo�al climate change signals and other anthro�ogenic �ressures in order to set limits to human inter�en� tion and ensure sustaina�le water resource man� agement (Pamidimukkala et al, 2021;Margeta, 2022). 3.…”

Afectación de los servicios ecosistémicos hídricos en la cuenca del río Teatinos (páramo Rabanal) efecto del cambio de coberturas de la tierra – producto del cambio climático global

“…Así mismo, se deben estudiar mecanismos de resiliencia de cuencas hidrográficas para conservar su oferta hídrica como respuesta a las señales de cambio climático global y otras presiones de carácter antrópico con el fin de establecer límites de intervención humana y garantizar gestión sostenible del recurso hídrico [41,42,43].…”

Building resilience for an uncertain drinking water future

“…However, their services can be vulnerable to natural and man-made hazards (ASCE, 2021;Maiolo & Pantusa, 2018) resulting in far-reaching public health, economic, and environmental consequences (Clark, 2014;Maiolo & Pantusa, 2018). In face of the projected increases in the frequency of natural and man-made hazards, uncertainties in climate change, infrastructure aging, and the increasing infrastructure development in high-risk locations, great emphasis has been placed on strengthening the resilience of drinking water systems through effective risk management (Pamidimukkala et al, 2021;USCB, 2021). Infrastructure system or water infrastructure system resilience has been broadly defined as the ability to withstand, adapt to, and rapidly recover the system's function from a potentially disruptive event (AWWA, 2021;NIAC, 2009).…”

“…Previous studies of drinking water system resilience have primarily focused on countermeasure identification and feasibility analysis (Adepu et al, 2022; Anwarul Abedin et al, 2019; Haxton et al, 2018; Nguyen et al, 2021; Pamidimukkala et al, 2021; Weisman & Epting, 2011), resilience assessment framework development (Ayala‐Cabrera et al, 2018; Klise & Murray, 2018; Liu et al, 2021; Morley, 2019; Shuang et al, 2019; Zhan et al, 2020), and comparisons of system and technology design (Nikolopoulos et al, 2021; Schoen et al, 2015). Despite these efforts, a comprehensive review of countermeasures and their influence on drinking water resilience is still lacking.…”