The Water Institute at UNC, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Geography and Environment, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
Sci Total Environ. 2014 Aug 15;490:509-13. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.05.007. Epub 2014 May 27.
Disparities in access to drinking water between rural and urban areas are pronounced. Although use of improved sources has increased more rapidly in rural areas, rising from 62% in 1990 to 81% in 2011, the proportion of the rural population using an improved water source remains substantially lower than in urban areas. Inequalities in coverage are compounded by disparities in other aspects of water service. Not all improved sources are safe and evidence from a systematic review demonstrates that water is more likely to contain detectable fecal indicator bacteria in rural areas. Piped water on premises is a service enjoyed primarily by those living in urban areas so differentiating amongst improved sources would exacerbate rural:urban disparities yet further. We argue that an urban bias may have resulted due to apparent stagnation in urban coverage and the inequity observed between urban and peri-urban areas. The apparent stagnation at around 95% coverage in urban areas stems in part from relative population growth - over the last two decades more people gained access to improved water in urban areas. There are calls for setting higher standards in urban areas which would exacerbate the already extreme rural disadvantage. Instead of setting different targets, health, economic, and human rights perspectives, We suggest that the focus should be kept on achieving universal access to safe water (primarily in rural areas) while monitoring progress towards higher service levels, including greater water safety (both in rural and urban areas and among different economic strata).
城乡地区饮用水获取方面的差距明显。尽管农村地区使用改良水源的比例增长较快，从 1990 年的 62%上升到 2011 年的 81%，但农村人口使用改良水源的比例仍大大低于城市地区。在供水服务的其他方面也存在差异，这使得覆盖率的不平等更加复杂。并非所有改良水源都是安全的，系统评价的证据表明，农村地区的水中更有可能含有可检测到的粪便指示菌。在房屋内铺设管道的自来水主要是城市地区居民享有的服务，因此区分改良水源将进一步加剧城乡差距。我们认为，由于城市地区的覆盖率明显停滞不前，以及城市和城市周边地区之间存在的不平等，可能导致了城市偏向。城市地区覆盖率约为 95%的明显停滞部分源于相对人口增长——在过去二十年中，更多的人在城市地区获得了改良水源。有人呼吁在城市地区设定更高的标准，这将进一步加剧农村地区已经极端的不利局面。我们建议，不应设定不同的目标，而应从健康、经济和人权的角度出发，我们建议将重点放在实现安全饮用水的普及（主要是在农村地区）上，同时监测更高服务水平（包括在农村和城市地区以及不同经济阶层中提高水安全）的进展情况。
