Water Supply Safety

Water Supply

The Dearth of Research on Water Supply Infrastructure Security as it Relates to Healthcare Operations

There are several contributing factors to the lack of research and empirical information regarding water supply infrastructure and how its security relates to and should be viewed by healthcare organizations. One of the primary and most simple of these causes is the expense of conducting empirical research on a community water supply system, and the practicality of conducting such research. Few healthcare organizations have the necessary finding to conduct such research themselves, and when communities can afford to fund the research (which is also rare, without federal assistance), the often cannot afford to implement the necessary infrastructure changes as recommended by the research (Briscoe 1983). This makes the expense of conducting the research hardly worthwhile, especially in the communities and situation where it is most needed.

A second and less obvious problem is the appropriation of available human resources, specifically of reputable researchers to generate such information in domestic projects. Water infrastructure and safety issues are far more pressing in the developing world, and large numbers of research teams and laboratories are engaged in developing better and safer water system in Africa and much of Latin America (Helmholz 2009). A lack of clean drinking water and reliable systems is a growing problem in much of the world, and so attention is shifted away from infrastructure issues in the developed world to where there is a greater need (Helmholz 2009). This leads to a lack of research in domestic water supply infrastructure issues.