U3.02 Binz 2017 ReNUWIt Annual Meeting Poster

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Abstract/Contents

Abstract: Direct potable water reuse (DPR), in which highly purified wastewater is introduced directly into a drinking water system, is among the newest, and most controversial, methods for augmenting water supplies. DPR is garnering increasing interest, but does not come without risks. This paper examines the notion that emerging regulation of DPR may lack sufficient attention to a particular class of risks, catastrophic risks with low probabilities of occurrence, but high consequences. It may be instructive for proponents of DPR that such consequences have materialized in other industries, with damage to human welfare and to the industries themselves. We develop brief histories of risk regulation from the aviation, offshore oil and nuclear industries, drawing out relevant lessons for the emerging DPR field. We argue that proponents of DPR could benefit from proactively developing a safety culture in DPR utilities and establishing an effective industry-wide auditing organization that investigates unanticipated system failures. Developing independent oversight for DPR operation could ensure that stringent quality and management requirements are set and enforced in the long run, and that any system failures or “near misses” are investigated and responded to adequately.

Type of resource	other
Date created	May 2017

Subject	Re-inventing the Nation’s Urban Water Infrastructure
Subject	ReNUWIt
Subject	U3.02
Subject	Urban Systems Integration and Institutions
Subject	Technology diffusion pathways
Subject	California
Subject	drinking water
Subject	innovation
Subject	model
Subject	policy
Subject	technology
Subject	urban water
Subject	wastewater
Subject	water reclamation
Subject	water reuse
Subject	water treatment

Related Publication	Binz, C., Razavian, N. B., & Kiparsky, M. (2018). Of Dreamliners and Drinking Water: Developing Risk Regulation and a Safety Culture for Direct Potable Reuse. Water Resources Management, 32(2), 511-525. http://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-017-1824-1
Location	https://purl.stanford.edu/wh078jx2277

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License: This work is licensed under an Open Data Commons Attribution License v1.0.

Preferred Citation: Binz, C., Razavian, N. B., & Kiparsky, M. (2017). U3.02 Razavian 2017 ReNUWIt Annual Meeting Poster. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at: https://purl.stanford.edu/wh078jx2277

Re-inventing the Nation's Urban Water Infrastructure (ReNUWIt)

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