SOCIO-ECONOMIC PATTERNS OF DRINKING WATER CONSUMERS IN THE GOTHENBURG REGION - SPATIAL DATA ANALYSIS OF CHARACTERISTICS, AND GEOLOGICAL RISKS

Background:

It is essential to know the demography of water consumers to develop tailored risk assessment tools and facilitate engagement with stakeholders. To develop risk assessment tools that are fit for purpose and specially tailored for the needs of consumers, we first need to identify who is supplied by what type of water, how is the water treated and managed, which risks are the raw water sources exposed to, and explore potential patterns regarding their conditions.

Methods:

This research assesses the socio-economic background of persons supplied with drinking water within the Gothenburg region. In this study, we perform a geospatial data analysis that enables the characterization of drinking water consumers and reveals information about the consumers’ socio-economic status, their raw water source, geological risks, environmental features, and the hazards the source water is exposed to. We intersect the geographic locations of the drinking water intakes and socio-economic datasets and conduct a correlation analysis, cross-sectional regression, and multivariate factor analysis. This study focuses on drinking water sources in Gothenburg, Sweden, and includes different sized water utilities and private wells.

Expected output:

The spatial data exploration will reveal relationships, patterns, and structures regarding drinking water consumers in the Gothenburg region and will be exemplary for Sweden. We anticipate that geographical aspects of drinking water provision can be grouped and ultimately support the characterization of consumers. The results will lay the foundation for developing more tailored risk assessment tools. Furthermore, the identification of consumer and provision patterns helps straightening potential inequalities in the provision of drinking water. Detailed knowledge about the consumers will help identify stakeholders supplied by drinking water and facilitate outreach and stakeholder engagement.