Grantee Research Project Results
Final Report: Building Resilience in Vulnerable Older Adult Communities Facing Increased Exposure Risks to Wastewater Contamination from Flooding in Puerto Rico
EPA Grant Number: R840040Title: Building Resilience in Vulnerable Older Adult Communities Facing Increased Exposure Risks to Wastewater Contamination from Flooding in Puerto Rico
Investigators: Ikuma, Kaoru
Institution: Iowa State University
EPA Project Officer: Aja, Hayley
Project Period: August 1, 2020 through July 31, 2023 (Extended to July 31, 2024)
Project Amount: $800,000
RFA: Contaminated Sites, Natural Disasters, Changing Environmental Conditions and Vulnerable Communities: Research to Build Resilience (2019) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Safer Chemicals , Sustainable and Healthy Communities
Objective:
The objective of this study is to gather data that will aid in building resilience in vulnerable populations against contamination risks posed by flooding. Our underlying hypothesis was that in vulnerable older adult communities exposed to natural disasters and resulting contamination, decreasing risk and increasing their resilience would require the need to take into account both psychosocial vulnerabilities and the built environment. Specifically, we are interested in improving our scientific understanding of how flooding results in elevated exposure risks to wastewater-related contaminants among older adults (Objective 1), determining what psychosocial variables affect the vulnerability of older adults to risk posed by contaminant exposure (Objective 2), and learning how to build resilience in vulnerable communities with older adults by connecting the information gathered in the previous objectives (Objective 3). Our accomplishments and findings.
Summary/Accomplishments (Outputs/Outcomes):
Objective 1
For Objective 1 we developed a predictive transport model of wastewater contaminants upon flooding in Loíza. Using the MIKE modeling system from DHI, we simulated contamination from the ocean outfall of the Carolina Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant and produced spatial maps of flooding and contaminant concentrations resulting from hurricanes of Categories 1-5. These maps allow us to predict locations and concentrations of wastewater contaminants within Loíza. We evaluated reduction in exposure by redesigning, reconfiguring, and improving wastewater infrastructure—i.e., the design of the outfall.
Our simulations of hurricanes affecting the coastal community of Loíza show that much of the simulated area—including more densely populated areas near the Rio Grande de Loíza and in the northeastern neighborhoods—experience flooding and contamination that worsens with stronger storms. With the current configuration of the ocean outfall, concentrations exceeded the EPA recreational water standard beyond the duration of the simulated storm. Redesigning and reconfiguring the outfall would be required to reduce concentrations below the standard for storms of Categories 3-5. These results suggest that as storms intensify and become more frequent, infrastructure in other coastal communities will need to be redesigned as well to reduce the vulnerability of the communities.
Objective 2
We conducted over 500 interviews and surveys with 4 Puerto Rican communities on their lived experiences with hurricanes, flooding, and water quality concerns. We found that older adults in Puerto Rico reported concerns with their tap water especially after hurricanes. Of the psychosocial variables tested, exposure to hurricanes, age, gender, and, most interestingly, mistrust of tap water were determined to be major factors influencing older adults’ perception of risk and wellbeing related to water. Those who drank tap water showed increased psychological resilience, possibly due to increased self-reliance and trust in their built environment.
In Puerto Rico, a considerable portion of the population is wary of the quality of tap water provided by PRASA; in our data collection efforts, we found that 64% of respondents expressed skepticism towards tap water. We categorized residents based on their trust and consumption patterns, shedding light on the factors that influence their water-drinking decisions, as follows:
- Residents that mistrust and do not drink tap water: influenced primarily by aesthetics of tap water.
- Residents that mistrust and do drink tap water: various reasons such as convenience and dependence on others (for bottled water) drove these respondents to drink tap water even though they perceived their water to have suboptimal quality.
- Residents that trust and do drink tap water: their confidence was largely attributed to their longstanding good experiences.
- Residents that trust and do not drink tap water: tap water avoidance was driven by convenience of bottled water or family pressure.
These findings reiterate the importance of public trust for people to use and drink tap water, showing that it is particularly important for Puerto Rican older adults who have been through multiple hurricanes and natural disasters. It is of utmost importance that drinking water utilities build trust with the communities they are serving to ensure that public health is protected, especially for vulnerable populations such as older adults.
Objective 3
We conducted a workshop and interviews in Puerto Rico with ~40 people and found that Puerto Ricans, especially older adults, tend to mistrust their tap water and many prefer to drink and use other water sources. We found that, as our findings from Objectives 1 and 2 point to, older adults with hurricane exposure also had tap water concerns, which negatively impacts their resilience in a compounding manner. As noted above, we strongly recommend that drinking water utilities openly shares water quality data with the consumers and communicates routinely with their customers to build trust.
Conclusions:
These findings reiterate the importance of public trust for people to use and drink tap water, showing that it is particularly important for Puerto Rican older adults who have been through multiple hurricanes and natural disasters. It is of utmost importance that drinking water utilities build trust with the communities they are serving to ensure that public health is protected, especially for vulnerable populations such as older adults.
Journal Articles on this Report : 2 Displayed | Download in RIS Format
| Other project views: | All 5 publications | 3 publications in selected types | All 3 journal articles |
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Nelson TN, Poleacovschi C, Weems CF, Ikuma K, García I, Rehmann CR. Navigating end-user perceptions:development and initial psychometric properties of a water quality perception scale. Frontiers in Water. 2024 30;6:1357921. |
R840040 (Final) |
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Nelson TN, Poleacovschi C, Weems CF, García I, Rehmann CR, Ikuma K. Relationship between Drinking Water Sources and Perceptions of Psychological Resilience in Older Adults Following Hurricane Maria. ACS ES&T Water. 2024 19;4(9):3976-85. |
R840040 (Final) |
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Supplemental Keywords:
Ocean outfall for wastewater discharge, Storm surge, Drinking water, Public trust, Older adultsProgress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.