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Article

Socio-Demographic Factors Driving the Choice of Alternative Safe Water Sources and Their Implications for Public Health: Lessons from Goalmari, Bangladesh

by
Riaz Hossain Khan
1,* and
Richard A. Fenner
2
1
BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University, Dhaka 1213, Bangladesh
2
Centre for Sustainable Development, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1TN, UK
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Water 2024, 16(14), 1978; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16141978
Submission received: 22 May 2024 / Revised: 4 July 2024 / Accepted: 10 July 2024 / Published: 12 July 2024
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Water Quality, Sanitation and Human Health)

Abstract

This study examined how socio-economic driving forces influence households’ choice of water, ranging from a piped water supply provided by Veolia to untreated sources contaminated with high levels of arsenic and pathogens. Households fall into three cluster groups based on variations in socio-economic status and physical, infrastructure, and institutional elements. About 64% of the variations are related to differences in awareness, willingness, and ability to pay for safe water sources. Families with higher monthly income showed interest in accepting Veolia’s house connection options, resulting in the shutdown of six community tap points and ultimately affecting the low-income households’ accessibility to Veolia water. A causal loop diagram showed five feedback loops influencing the choice of drinking contaminated water. Bayesian Network models were sensitive to the ability, accessibility, and willingness to pay for safe water, deep tube well distributions, installation and maintenance costs, ownership of tube wells, household income level, and the level of awareness. Results suggest that the risks of drinking contaminated water can be minimized by raising awareness; accepting arsenic removal techniques; sharing expenses; training for deep tube well installations and maintenance; increasing Veolia pipeline coverage; and redesigning the tap point distributions. These results help identify the relative importance of such interventions to improve water security in safe water-poor areas.
Keywords: driving forces; feedback loops; leverage points; safe water sources; systems view driving forces; feedback loops; leverage points; safe water sources; systems view

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MDPI and ACS Style

Khan, R.H.; Fenner, R.A. Socio-Demographic Factors Driving the Choice of Alternative Safe Water Sources and Their Implications for Public Health: Lessons from Goalmari, Bangladesh. Water 2024, 16, 1978. https://doi.org/10.3390/w16141978

AMA Style

Khan RH, Fenner RA. Socio-Demographic Factors Driving the Choice of Alternative Safe Water Sources and Their Implications for Public Health: Lessons from Goalmari, Bangladesh. Water. 2024; 16(14):1978. https://doi.org/10.3390/w16141978

Chicago/Turabian Style

Khan, Riaz Hossain, and Richard A. Fenner. 2024. "Socio-Demographic Factors Driving the Choice of Alternative Safe Water Sources and Their Implications for Public Health: Lessons from Goalmari, Bangladesh" Water 16, no. 14: 1978. https://doi.org/10.3390/w16141978

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