Application of the Water Poverty Index in border colonias of west Texas

Abstract

This study applied the Water Poverty Index (WPI) in border colonias of west Texas. The colonias are mostly unincorporated communities located primarily in New Mexico and Texas along the border with Mexico and are characterized by high poverty rates and sub-standard living conditions. In Texas, access to drinking water and sanitation services has been identified as one of the most significant determinants of health in over 350 colonias with about 50,000 residents. The WPI is a multidimensional measure that links household welfare with water availability which has been applied primarily in water poor countries. WPI components were identified and prioritized by a wide range of state stakeholders. This study demonstrated that the WPI can be an effective tool in integrating physical, social, economic and environmental information and in determining priorides associated with the water situation in wealthy countries with water poor communities such as colonias. These results highlight the need to classify the water necessities of colonias using a comprehensive but simple assessment tool that integrates several factors and is not based solely on infrastructure. They provide information that can be used by policy makers to provide assistance to Texas border communities with the greatest need.

A Systematic Literature Review on Water Insecurity from an Oregon Public Health Perspective

“…Results identified the neediest of the studied colonias and showed that improvements in any of the 4 indicators would benefit that community. Results also identified specific needed improvements for the other colonias studied, allowing for more focused community resources [27].…”

“…Korc and Ford [27] applied the WPI model in 131 households along the border colonias of west Texas. The WPI indicators include:…”

“…Access (access to drinking water and sanitation, and institutional or technical capacity of water suppliers in a colonia), • Capacity (cost of water, household annual income and drinking water tank maintenance in a colonia) and, • Environmental (septic tank certification and septic tank maintenance in a colonia) [27].…”

“…To create a colonia-level WPI, the study matched a water, sanitation and safety dataset from a 2010 Texas Department of State Health Services community-based survey on colonias with water supplier compliance and enforcement information. Researchers combined the WPI components using a weighted average method, with the weightings indicating the importance of a particular WPI component [27]. Results identified the neediest of the studied colonias and showed that improvements in any of the 4 indicators would benefit that community.…”

Progress in household water insecurity metrics: a cross‐disciplinary approach

“…Other quantitative assessments have been developed or integrated into composite indices as key indicators of water resource deprivation. These include characteristics related to the ecological services of water systems at watershed, regional, or national scales (Table ) . At the country or basin scale, multiple measures exist to identify thresholds for water‐related risk in terms of hazard, vulnerability, and exposure of water insecurity .…”