AUTHOR=Zhou Wenmei , Kalonji Gretchen , Chen Chuan , Martek Igor 

TITLE=Seismic Resilience of Rural Water Supply Systems; Factor Analysis of Cases Set in Sichuan Province, China

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 10 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.840379

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2022.840379

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=The seismic-resilience of water supply systems can be impacted by numerous factors, but what these are in the rural context of China were unknown. In this study, 41 potential influencing factors of seismic-resilience for rural water supply system (RWSS) were obtained through a literature review and semi-structured expert interview, comprising 26 general influencing factors and 15 water supply safety influencing factors. This study verified and ranked these factors through a questionnaire survey delivered to RWSS stakeholders, situated in Sichuan Province, China. Based on 123 valid, returned questionnaires, these 41 factors are divided into 9 factor groups through factor analysis, of which "Economic resilience" and "Organizational resilience in disaster preparedness stage" are shown to be the most important factor groups. Additionally, it found that the experience of earthquake events significantly affects stakeholders' perceptions on the importance of certain factors. Specifically, stakeholders who have experienced an earthquake prioritize the post-earthquake resilience of the system, while those who have not experienced an earthquake prioritize the absorption capacity of the system in the disaster preparedness stage. Thus, it is not appropriate to use fixed weights to evaluate the seismic resilience of RWSSs. Significantly, this outcome differs from existing findings on the resilience of Urban Water Supply Systems (UWSSs), where “technical resilience” is the key dimension. These findings can help decision-makers fully understand the factors affecting the seismic-resilience of RWSSs in China, and in so doing, augment the strengthening of rural water supply.