Economic factors affecting water supply resilience to disasters

Behrooz Balaei, Ilan Noy, Suzanne Wilkinson and Regan Potangaroa

Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, 2021, vol. 76, issue C

Abstract: Water supply systems need to be resilient enough to provide people and critical users with reliable water following a disaster. Previous research has shown that four main factors dictate system robustness and rapidity of recovery following a disaster: vulnerability, social capital, organisational capacity, and economic capital. This paper identifies the economic factors affecting water supply resilience. Relevant factors and indicators were gathered through a comprehensive literature review and verified through a series of interviews with water supply, resilience, and social scientists and economists. Economic capacity and quick access to finance were found to be the main economic factors influencing the resilience of water supply systems. Quick access to finance is most important in the early stages following a disaster for response and restoration, but its importance declines over time. In contrast, the economic capacity of the disaster struck area as well as the water sector play a vital role in the subsequent reconstruction phase rather than in the response and restoration period. Indicators for these factors were tested for the case of the February 2011 earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Keywords: Economic capacity; Quick access to finance; Resilience; Water supply; Disasters; Disaster financial risk (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:soceps:v:76:y:2021:i:c:s0038012120307989

DOI: 10.1016/j.seps.2020.100961

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