Assessing the Impact of the Operational Context of Community Water Systems on Drinking Water Quality Violations: Trends in Health-Based Violations in Rural Alaska

Drinking water utilities in rural Alaska are often out of compliance due to a myriad of challenges, including workforce shortages, limited financial capacity, and aging infrastructure. Water quality violations are typically viewed through a technical lens alone; yet, the operational context in which utilities operate contributes to the challenges faced by utilities. This study seeks to identify community-level characteristics associated with health-based drinking water quality violations to identify ways to reduce household water vulnerability in rural Alaska. We use binary probit models to test the impact of geographic, sociodemographic, and water system characteristics on the likelihood of incurring health-based water quality violations. The models revealed parameters associated with health-based drinking water quality violations, including operator certification level, community water system size, and community poverty rate. Identifying vulnerable utilities and potential areas for improvements to water services is essential to providing safe water and protecting public health. The results of this study can provide planners and managers with information on how to allocate funding to improve community water systems effectively. For instance, utilities in rural Alaska may benefit from operator retention programs and localized certification requirements to support reducing health-based violations.