Potential Public Health Impacts of Deteriorating Distribution System Infrastructure

Renwick, Deborah Vacs; Heinrich, Austin; Weisman, Richard; Arvanaghi, Heather; Rotert, Kenneth

doi:10.1002/awwa.1235

Cited by 33 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 24 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…However, extreme precipitation events were associated with AGI most prominently in municipalities that use the Merrimack River as their exclusive or intermittent drinking water source (Table S2C), which could instead suggest contamination of drinking water due to pathogen infiltration or cross contamination of leaky sewage and water distribution pipes. 43,44 The large confidence intervals and lack of statistical significance among any of the stratified drinking water groups in this study, possibly due to smaller case counts, further limits the conclusions that can be made about the potential for drinking water contamination.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 79%

Association between combined sewer overflow events and gastrointestinal illness in Massachusetts municipalities with and without river-sourced drinking water, 2014-2019

Haley,

Sun,

Jagai

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Combined sewer overflow (CSO) events release untreated wastewater into surface waterbodies during heavy precipitation or snowmelt. Combined sewer systems serve approximately 40 million people in the United States, primarily in urban and suburban municipalities in the Midwest and Northeast. Predicted increases in heavy precipitation events driven by climate change underscore the importance of quantifying potential health risks associated with CSO events. Objectives The aims of this study were: to 1) estimate the association between CSO events (2014-2019) and emergency department (ED) visits for acute gastrointestinal illness (AGI) among Massachusetts municipalities that border a CSO-impacted river, and 2) determine if associations differ by municipal drinking water source. Methods A case time series design was used to estimate the association between daily cumulative upstream CSO discharge in the prior four days and ED visits for AGI, adjusting for temporal trends, temperature, and precipitation. Associations between CSO events and AGI were also compared by municipal drinking water source (CSO-impacted river vs. other sources). Results Extreme upstream CSO discharge events (>95th percentile by cumulative volume) were associated with a cumulative risk ratio (CRR) of AGI of 1.22 (95% CI: 1.05, 1.42) over the next four days for all municipalities, and the association was robust after adjusting for precipitation (1.17 [0.98, 1.39]). In municipalities with CSO-impacted drinking water sources, the adjusted association was somewhat less pronounced following 95th percentile CSO events (1.05 [0.82, 1.33]). The adjusted CRR of AGI was 1.62 in all municipalities following 99th percentile CSO events (95% CI: 1.04, 2.51) and not meaningfully different across strata defined by drinking water source. Discussion In municipalities bordering a CSO-impacted river in Massachusetts, extreme CSO events are associated with higher risk of AGI within four days. The largest CSO events are associated with increased risk of AGI regardless of drinking water source.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 79%

Association between combined sewer overflow events and gastrointestinal illness in Massachusetts municipalities with and without river-sourced drinking water, 2014-2019

Haley,

Sun,

Jagai

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…in particular in relation to ageing drinking water reservoirs (Renwick et al 2019). However, the hypothesis of a combination of weather conditions resulting in an increased number of contamination events triggering BWAs has not yet been studied in a Norwegian setting.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identifying challenges in drinking water supplies: assessment of boil water advisories in Norway (2008–2019)

Hyllestad

Kjørsvik

Veneti

et al. 2021

Journal of Water and Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The issuing of boil water advisories (BWAs) is a widely used response to microbiological contamination events in drinking water supply systems, and may therefore serve as an indicator for the access to safe drinking water. To supplement data source on the overall status of water supply systems (WSSs) in Norway, we analysed public media reports published in Norway to assess trends, causes, geographical and seasonal distribution of BWAs issued during the period 2008–2019. We identified 1,108 BWA events increasingly reported over the study period but characterised by a decreasing trend in time with respect to duration. The two main frequent causes for BWA were detection of faecal indicator bacteria (42.6%) and risk of contaminants intrusion in the distribution system (21%). We observed higher reporting rates in summer and autumn compared with winter, and higher reporting rates in Northern and Eastern Norwegian regions compared with the Central region. The results of this study could serve as supplementary information to better understand the overall status among WSSs in Norway, particularly in case of recurrent BWA's events, as well as suggest the relevance of BWAs' monitoring in identifying risk factors and planning targeted interventions.

show abstract

“…Water main breaks result in the interruption of water supply, damage to surrounding property, and increased risks of pathogen intrusion (LeChevallier et al, 2003;Nygård et al, 2007). Many water mains around the world are reaching or have surpassed their life expectancy and are in great need of replacement to ensure the continuous provision of safe drinking water [American Water Works Association (AWWA), 2017; Renwick et al, 2019]. As these pipes are replaced, utilities must weigh myriad factors when choosing the pipe material for replacement pipe, including but not limited to, climate and chemical properties of the piped water and soil.…”

Section: Relevance and Recommendations To The Drinking Water Sectormentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Pipe Material on the Diversity of Microbial Communities in Drinking Water Distribution Systems

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

As many cities around the world face the prospect of replacing aging drinking water distribution systems (DWDS), water utilities must make careful decisions on new pipe material (e.g., cement-lined or PVC) for these systems. These decisions are informed by cost, physical integrity, and impact on microbiological and physicochemical water quality. Indeed, pipe material can impact the development of biofilm in DWDS that can harbor pathogens and impact drinking water quality. Annular reactors (ARs) with cast iron and cement coupons fed with chloraminated water from a municipal DWDS were used to investigate the impact of pipe material on biofilm development and composition over 16 months. The ARs were plumbed as closely as possible to the water main in the basement of an academic building to simulate distribution system conditions. Biofilm communities on coupons were characterized using 16S rRNA sequencing. In the cast iron reactors, β-proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and α-proteobacteria were similarly relatively abundant (24.1, 22.5, and 22.4%, respectively) while in the cement reactors, α-proteobacteria and Actinobacteria were more relatively abundant (36.3 and 35.2%, respectively) compared to β-proteobacteria (12.8%). Mean alpha diversity (estimated with Shannon H and Faith’s Phylogenetic Difference indices) was greater in cast iron reactors (Shannon: 5.00 ± 0.41; Faith’s PD: 15.40 ± 2.88) than in cement reactors (Shannon: 4.16 ± 0.78; Faith’s PD: 13.00 ± 2.01). PCoA of Bray-Curtis dissimilarities indicated that communities in cast iron ARs, cement ARs, bulk distribution system water, and distribution system pipe biofilm were distinct. The mean relative abundance of Mycobacterium spp. was greater in the cement reactors (34.8 ± 18.6%) than in the cast iron reactors (21.7 ± 11.9%). In contrast, the mean relative abundance of Legionella spp. trended higher in biofilm from cast iron reactors (0.5 ± 0.7%) than biofilm in cement reactors (0.01 ± 0.01%). These results suggest that pipe material is associated with differences in the diversity, bacterial composition, and opportunistic pathogen prevalence in biofilm of DWDS.

show abstract

Potential Public Health Impacts of Deteriorating Distribution System Infrastructure

Abstract: Drinking water distribution system deterioration can affect the water supply and reliability as well as water quality and public health.

Cited by 33 publications

References 24 publications

Association between combined sewer overflow events and gastrointestinal illness in Massachusetts municipalities with and without river-sourced drinking water, 2014-2019

Association between combined sewer overflow events and gastrointestinal illness in Massachusetts municipalities with and without river-sourced drinking water, 2014-2019

Identifying challenges in drinking water supplies: assessment of boil water advisories in Norway (2008–2019)

The Impact of Pipe Material on the Diversity of Microbial Communities in Drinking Water Distribution Systems

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About