A Critical Review of the Global Use and Context of Trucked Water as a Potable Water Supply

Abstract

Achieving global access to safe drinking water has primarily focused on providing on-plot water services. However, many communities are served by delivery of potable water trucked to homes for drinking and/or domestic purposes, whether during humanitarian emergencies, as a result of geographic remoteness, or other underlying factors. The goal of this study was to review literature and available global data surrounding trucked water to understand (1) the number of people served by trucked water, (2) scenarios when trucked water is used to deliver water, and (3) research challenges in trucked water services. We conducted a review of 118 peer-reviewed literature papers. These studies revealed key themes: water quality, cost, contexts, operation and management, and water quantity supplied. We also estimated the number of people served by trucked water using data from global surveys from 2009 to 2019, estimating a range of 29.6–64.1 million people served by trucked water globally. We identified several countries without known national data identifying use of trucked water but cited in the literature, including North America and Europe. Our findings demonstrate the widespread prevalence of trucked water supplies globally and identify reasons for trucked water delivery and challenges remaining for trucked water supplies.