Water insecurity poses a complex challenge for the western United States. Large populations are exposed and susceptible to physical and social factors that can leave them with precarious access to sufficient water supplies. Consideration of social issues by water managers can help ensure equitable supply. However, how social factors affect water insecurity conditions remains unclear. This paper reviews literature on how social vulnerability influences water insecurity in the western United States. Through a meta-analysis, indicators measuring how dimensions of social vulnerability influence water insecurity were classified and hierarchical clustering was used to characterize the relationships among these vulnerability dimensions for the largest water-users—the agricultural and municipal sectors. The study then assessed uncertainty associated with social vulnerability dimensions and their indicators. There is greatest evidence for the influence of demographic characteristics, socioeconomic status, and exposure. Indicators of these determinants were mainly significant and exacerbated conditions of water insecurity. Evidence for indicators of social dependence and special needs populations was limited, although studies assessing these factors showed significant agreement on their influence on water insecurity. Conceptual framings of social vulnerability and water security determined which indicators were measured, whereas studies of the water-use sectors focused on differing associations of social vulnerability. These findings indicate the importance of recognizing the different contexts posed by water-use sectors and diverse conceptual framings. Further, some determinants such as living conditions remain important but underexplored drivers of a community's experience of water insecurity. Understanding the uncertainty associated with these measures has implications to equitable decision making.

中文翻译：

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美国西部的社会脆弱性和水不安全：框架、指标和不确定性的系统审查


水资源不安全给美国西部带来了复杂的挑战。大量人口受到自然和社会因素的影响并容易受到这些因素的影响，这些因素可能使他们难以获得充足的供水。水资源管理者对社会问题的考虑有助于确保公平供应。然而，社会因素如何影响水不安全状况仍不清楚。本文回顾了有关社会脆弱性如何影响美国西部水不安全的文献。通过荟萃分析，对衡量社会脆弱性维度如何影响水不安全的指标进行了分类，并使用层次聚类来描述最大用水户（农业和市政部门）这些脆弱性维度之间的关系。然后，该研究评估了与社会脆弱性维度及其指标相关的不确定性。有充分的证据表明人口特征、社会经济地位和暴露程度的影响。这些决定因素的指标主要是严重且加剧的水不安全状况。尽管评估这些因素的研究表明它们对水不安全的影响存在重大共识，但有关社会依赖和特殊需要人口指标的证据有限。社会脆弱性和水安全的概念框架决定了衡量哪些指标，而用水部门的研究则侧重于社会脆弱性的不同关联。这些发现表明认识到用水部门和不同概念框架所带来的不同背景的重要性。 此外，生活条件等一些决定因素仍然很重要，但尚未充分探讨社区水不安全经历的驱动因素。了解与这些措施相关的不确定性对公平决策具有影响。