Factors Associated with Water Service Continuity for the Rural Populations of Bangladesh, Pakistan, Ethiopia, and Mozambique.

Access to continuous water supply is key for improving health and economic outcomes in rural areas of low- and middle-income countries, but the factors associated with continuous water access in these areas have not been well-characterized. We surveyed 4786 households for evidence of technical, financial, institutional, social, and environmental predictors of rural water service continuity (WSC), defined as the percentage of the year that water is available from a source. Multiple imputed fractional logistic regression models that account for the survey design were used to assess operational risks to WSC for piped supply, tube wells, boreholes, springs, dug wells, and surface water for the rural populations of Bangladesh, Pakistan, Ethiopia, and Mozambique. Multivariable regressions indicate that households using multiple water sources were associated with lower WSC in Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Mozambique. However, the possibility must be considered that households may use more than one water source because services are intermittent. Water scarcity and drought were largely unassociated with WSC, suggesting that service interruptions may not be primarily due to physical water resource constraints. Consistent findings across countries may have broader relevance for meeting established targets for service availability as well as human health.

Catchment Level Water Resource Constraints on UK Policies for Low-Carbon Energy System Transitions by 2030.

The UK government has proposed different low-carbon energy system options that lead to meeting its greenhouse gas emissions target of 80% reduction on 1990 levels by 2050. While these energy system options meet emission targets at feasible economic cost, water requirement for the deployment of the proposed energy technology mix is not adequately accounted for. This may become critical, as some of the proposed energy technologies are relatively more water-intensive, and could result in significant future water resource constraints. Previous studies have analyzed the potential water resource constraints of future energy systems in the UK at national scale. However, water must be considered as a local resource with significant regional variability. This paper uses a linear spatial-downscaling model to allocate water-intensive energy system infrastructure/technologies at catchment level, and estimates water requirements for the deployment of these technologies for the Committee on Climate Change Carbon Budgets in 2030. The paper concludes that while national-scale analysis shows minimal long-term water related impacts, catchment level appraisal of water resource requirements reveals significant constraints in some locations. This has important implications for regions where the water-energy nexus must be analyzed at appropriate spatial resolution to capture the full water resource impact of national energy policy.