Understanding the intersecting social, technical, and ecological systems challenges associated with emerging contaminants in drinking water using cyanotoxins as an example
Abstract This paper investigates toxic algal blooms (TABs) and their management as an example of a complex emerging contaminant (EC) problem through the lens of interconnected social, technical, ecological systems (SETS). We use mixed methods including analysis of a national survey of public drinkin...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SpringerOpen
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Journal of Infrastructure Preservation and Resilience |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s43065-024-00111-1 |
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| author | Christine J. Kirchhoff Cristina Mullin Reginald Denny Maria Carmen Lemos Galen Treuer |
| author_facet | Christine J. Kirchhoff Cristina Mullin Reginald Denny Maria Carmen Lemos Galen Treuer |
| author_sort | Christine J. Kirchhoff |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract This paper investigates toxic algal blooms (TABs) and their management as an example of a complex emerging contaminant (EC) problem through the lens of interconnected social, technical, ecological systems (SETS). We use mixed methods including analysis of a national survey of public drinking water systems and interviews with drinking water managers and state regulators. For the first time, we extend SETS to the drinking water context to advance a holistic understanding of the complexity of TABs as a problem for drinking water systems and identify specific intervention points to ease TABs management difficulty. We find that management challenges arise at the intersection of SET domains, and often coincide with circumstances where water managers and existing technologies are pushed outside of their traditional operating spheres or when new technologies are introduced creating cascading SET challenges. ECs that do not behave like traditional contaminants and pollutants require adapting social and technical systems to be responsive to these differences. Understanding how management difficulties arise within SET domains and their intersections will help drinking water managers and state regulators mitigate management difficulties in the future. These findings have implications for understanding and mitigating other EC management challenges as well. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e84bfae63f6940b9a5b8ab10229810f6 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2662-2521 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | SpringerOpen |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Infrastructure Preservation and Resilience |
| spelling | doaj-art-e84bfae63f6940b9a5b8ab10229810f62024-12-22T12:21:13ZengSpringerOpenJournal of Infrastructure Preservation and Resilience2662-25212024-12-015111710.1186/s43065-024-00111-1Understanding the intersecting social, technical, and ecological systems challenges associated with emerging contaminants in drinking water using cyanotoxins as an exampleChristine J. Kirchhoff0Cristina Mullin1Reginald Denny2Maria Carmen Lemos3Galen Treuer4School of Engineering Design and Innovation, Penn State UniversityDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of ConnecticutDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of ConnecticutSchool for Environment and Sustainability, University of MichiganDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of ConnecticutAbstract This paper investigates toxic algal blooms (TABs) and their management as an example of a complex emerging contaminant (EC) problem through the lens of interconnected social, technical, ecological systems (SETS). We use mixed methods including analysis of a national survey of public drinking water systems and interviews with drinking water managers and state regulators. For the first time, we extend SETS to the drinking water context to advance a holistic understanding of the complexity of TABs as a problem for drinking water systems and identify specific intervention points to ease TABs management difficulty. We find that management challenges arise at the intersection of SET domains, and often coincide with circumstances where water managers and existing technologies are pushed outside of their traditional operating spheres or when new technologies are introduced creating cascading SET challenges. ECs that do not behave like traditional contaminants and pollutants require adapting social and technical systems to be responsive to these differences. Understanding how management difficulties arise within SET domains and their intersections will help drinking water managers and state regulators mitigate management difficulties in the future. These findings have implications for understanding and mitigating other EC management challenges as well.https://doi.org/10.1186/s43065-024-00111-1Emerging contaminantsCyanotoxinsSocio-technical systemsSocio-ecological systemsGlobal environmental change |
| spellingShingle | Christine J. Kirchhoff Cristina Mullin Reginald Denny Maria Carmen Lemos Galen Treuer Understanding the intersecting social, technical, and ecological systems challenges associated with emerging contaminants in drinking water using cyanotoxins as an example Journal of Infrastructure Preservation and Resilience Emerging contaminants Cyanotoxins Socio-technical systems Socio-ecological systems Global environmental change |
| title | Understanding the intersecting social, technical, and ecological systems challenges associated with emerging contaminants in drinking water using cyanotoxins as an example |
| title_full | Understanding the intersecting social, technical, and ecological systems challenges associated with emerging contaminants in drinking water using cyanotoxins as an example |
| title_fullStr | Understanding the intersecting social, technical, and ecological systems challenges associated with emerging contaminants in drinking water using cyanotoxins as an example |
| title_full_unstemmed | Understanding the intersecting social, technical, and ecological systems challenges associated with emerging contaminants in drinking water using cyanotoxins as an example |
| title_short | Understanding the intersecting social, technical, and ecological systems challenges associated with emerging contaminants in drinking water using cyanotoxins as an example |
| title_sort | understanding the intersecting social technical and ecological systems challenges associated with emerging contaminants in drinking water using cyanotoxins as an example |
| topic | Emerging contaminants Cyanotoxins Socio-technical systems Socio-ecological systems Global environmental change |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s43065-024-00111-1 |
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