Engineering in a Crisis: Observing Students' Perceptions of Macroethical Responsibilities during Pandemics and Natural Disasters

When the ethical responsibilities of engineers are discussed in classrooms, the focus is usually on microethics, which concentrates on individual decision-making, rather than macroethics, that addresses broad societal concerns. Pandemics (e.g., COVID-19) and natural disasters (e.g., hurricanes, derechos) have presented unique opportunities to observe engineering macroethical responsibilities, because unjust social, economic, and environmental systems have been brought to the forefront amidst the responses (e.g., inequitable transportation access). In this paper, we consider pandemics and natural disasters through the lens of engineering macroethics, aiming to understand students' perceptions about the macroethical responsibilities of engineers. In the fall of 2020, we deployed a survey to undergraduate engineering students at two universities (n=424). Students were asked to discuss what they perceived to be the role of engineering professionals in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic and natural disasters. We used a qualitative content analysis to explore the macroethical responsibilities mentioned in students' responses. Many of these responses include considerations of infrastructure resilience, resource distribution, and community equity. Logit models were used to identify which sociodemographic factors were associated with responses that included macroethical responsibilities, revealing engineering major (specifically, civil engineering), employment status, gender identity, and family size, among others as significant factors. The implications from this study include recommendations on curricular content, and identifying which student sociodemographic groups would especially benefit from macroethical content in coursework. © 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.

Small Drinking Water Utilities? Resilience: The Case of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Extreme events can significantly disrupt the operation and maintenance (O&M) of drinking water utilities (DWUs), compromising community access to water in critical times. However, we posit that utility size can influence DWUs' resilience, as large DWUs may have a greater capacity to handle extreme and sudden changes characteristic of emergencies. Here, we explore the resilience of small DWUs by understanding how a global crisis (i.e., the COVID-19 pandemic) affected small DWUs and how these impacts statistically differ from those of large DWUs using statistical inferencing. We used two data sets that reflect the perspectives of 28 large and 26 small DWUs from 14 states. We found that small DWUs experienced issues involving supply chain, finances, and personnel management that pre-existing issues may have magnified. Additionally, small and large DWUs experienced statistically significant differences in personnel management, revenue change, increase in delinquent accounts, and emergency response plan activation. For example, large DWUs experienced more revenue loss than small DWUs due to economies of scale and larger changes from status quo operations. This study reveals areas of concern (and opportunities) regarding the resiliency of small DWUs in the face of emergencies that can allow policymakers to assist small DWUs.

Small Drinking Water Utilities' Resilience: The Case of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Extreme events can significantly disrupt the operation and maintenance (O&M) of drinking water utilities (DWUs), compromising community access to water in critical times. However, we posit that utility size can influence DWUs' resilience, as large DWUs may have a greater capacity to handle extreme and sudden changes characteristic of emergencies. Here, we explore the resilience of small DWUs by understanding how a global crisis (i.e., the COVID-19 pandemic) affected small DWUs and how these impacts statistically differ from those of large DWUs using statistical inferencing. We used two data sets that reflect the perspectives of 28 large and 26 small DWUs from 14 states. We found that small DWUs experienced issues involving supply chain, finances, and personnel management that pre-existing issues may have magnified. Additionally, small and large DWUs experienced statistically significant differences in personnel management, revenue change, increase in delinquent accounts, and emergency response plan activation. For example, large DWUs experienced more revenue loss than small DWUs due to economies of scale and larger changes from status quo operations. This study reveals areas of concern (and opportunities) regarding the resiliency of small DWUs in the face of emergencies that can allow policymakers to assist small DWUs. © 2023 American Chemical Society.

Water Demand and Human Behavior during Compounding Disasters: The Case of Winter Storm Uri and the COVID-19 Pandemic

Engineered systems are designed for a specific operating context based on assumptions about the population served. In turn, management of these systems can be stressed during population shifts (and corresponding demand shifts), such as those seen during both discrete (e.g., hurricanes) and protracted (e.g., pandemics) events. For instance, the COVID-19 pandemic caused drastic changes in society, consequentially changing spatial and temporal water use as people worked from home. In another example, Winter Storm Uri led to utility service disruptions throughout Texas, causing people without power and water to seek shelter, leading to spatial changes in water use in conjunction with physical damage. This sheltering occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to increased uncertainty in demand and challenges to shelter while ensuring social distancing. Researchers have studied disaster scenarios independently, but there is a gap surrounding compounding disasters as human-infrastructure interactions are likely altered. Here, we assess water demand changes during Winter Storm Uri (which occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic) at the building level. We performed k-means clustering on demand data from four buildings at the University of Texas, Austin. Three buildings showed different daily demand profiles during the storm compared to the spring semester. Interestingly, there were demand increases in buildings not being used as warming centers, perhaps indicating increased occupancy. This trend reveals that people do not necessarily choose to shelter in places that are formally organized. In a museum, water use decreased compared to the already reduced demand during the pandemic, possibly leading to water stagnation and quality concerns. © ASCE.

Connecting Pre-Existing Characteristics of Water Utilities to Impacts during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic changed the way societies operate. Consequentially, the public, businesses, and industry used water differently, leading to changes in overall demand, along with spatial shifts in use. These changes stressed US water utilities, as they had to implement social distancing policies, adjust to changing revenues, and create customer assistance programs. The capabilities and characteristics of water utilities vary throughout the US, which may impact their resilience. Here, we aim to understand which pre-existing characteristics of water utilities may have led to resilience during the pandemic using results from a qualitative analysis of interviews with 27 US utilities conducted during 2020. We searched for statistical associations between utility characteristics (e.g., population dynamics, geographic location) and the challenges or changes experienced during the pandemic. Results of this study reveal the possible operating environments that increase the resilience of pandemic-induced shocks and help utilities prepare for future pandemics or population dynamics.

Water Utilities and the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Review of Pandemic-Related Research

To reduce the spread of the COVID-19 disease, government mandated social distancing policies (SDPs) halted the operations of non-essential businesses and changed operations at essential businesses, including water utilities. This change was difficult for some utilities to adapt to as the SDPs impacted supply chain and altered workforce management, among other operational aspects. Here, we posit that SDPs have implications for water infrastructure resiliency and technical performance, and may impact the future design, construction, and operation of water infrastructure. However, there is a dearth of literature on this topic. Therefore, we complete a literature review of sources from gray and scholarly literature to understand the impact of pandemics on water infrastructure. We found that the literature focuses on contextualizing COVID-19 within water infrastructure, direct impacts to utilities, and recommendations for immediate and future mitigation. Our research points out a gap in the literature that examines pandemic impacts on specific types of water utilities (e.g., small, rural) and identifies future research opportunities (e.g., relating water utility pandemic impacts to population dynamics). Here, we point out potential water infrastructure resiliency problems that, without intervention, could negatively impact technical system operations and public health.

Implications of Social Distancing Policies on Drinking Water Infrastructure: An Overview of the Challenges to and Responses of U.S. Utilities during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Social distancing policies (SDPs) implemented throughout the United States in response to COVID-19 have led to spatial and temporal shifts in drinking water demand and, for water utilities, created sociotechnical challenges. During this unique period, many water utilities have been forced to operate outside of design conditions with reduced workforce and financial capacities. Few studies have examined how water utilities respond to a pandemic;such methods are even absent from many emergency response plans. Here, we documented how utilities have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted a qualitative analysis of 30 interviews with 53 practitioners spanning 28 U.S. water utilities. Our aim was to, first, understand the challenges experienced by utilities and changes to operations (e.g., demand and deficit accounts) and, second, to document utilities' responses. Results showed that to maintain service continuity and implement SDPs, utilities had to overcome various challenges. These include supply chain issues, spatiotemporal changes in demand, and financial losses, and these challenges were largely dependent on the type of customers served (e.g., commercial or residential). Examples of utilities' responses include proactively ordering extra supplies and postponing capital projects. Although utilities' adaptations ensured the immediate provision of water services, their responses might have negative repercussions in the future (e.g., delayed projects contributing to aging infrastructure).

Water and Wastewater Systems and Utilities: Challenges and Opportunities during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Forum papers are thought-provoking opinion pieces or essays founded in fact, sometimes containing speculation, on a civil engineering topic of general interest and relevance to the readership of the journal. The views expressed in this Forum article do not necessarily reflect the views of ASCE or the Editorial Board of the journal.