Improving Readability and Accessibility of National Drinking Water Data in Norway through Dashboard Visualization

Ensuring access to reliable information on drinking water supply and quality is essential for public health. However, Norway faces challenges in effectively disseminating comprehensive data on drinking water systems. Current practices, largely based on static PDF reports, hinder the accessibility and timeliness of updates and make stakeholder engagement and decision-making difficult. To improve data accessibility and clarity for stakeholders, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (FHI) is leading the way in addressing these issues and recognizes the need for a new approach towards visualization-based solutions. This study proposes a visualization-centric approach to drinking water reporting in line with Norway’s national goals on water and health, in particular Goal 13 (Population should have information about drinking water). In collaboration with the thesis author, FHI aims to improve public and decision-makers’ access to information and enhance the value proposition of annual reporting. Key questions driving this initiative include developing dynamic visualization tools to present available data in a more user-friendly format. The proposed solution includes parameter selection, data visualization strategies and dashboard development that facilitate a comprehensive understanding of the status of Norwegian drinking water systems. While acknowledging the complexity of the implementation, FHI emphasizes the important role visualization plays in achieving desired results and solving existing challenges. To achieve this solution, a comprehensive methodology plan was followed. In general, a design thinking methodology framework was adopted and an iterative process was used to achieve the desired outcome. In order to create this iterative process, it was aimed to create the initial design with the GQM (Goal-Question-Metric) approach. In line with this approach, apart from FHI, water engineering master students, the Norwegian Food Safety Authority (NFSA), Norsk Vann and Statistics Norway (SSB) were involved in the process. Discussions with these newly added stakeholders shaped the initial design of the dashboard and formed the basis for further iterations. After the initial design, stakeholder consultations continued in subsequent iterations and intermediate designs until the final satisfactory design was finalized. The final product was a dashboard design with easy-to-use and interactive filters on almost every page. The dashboard consists of a cover page, a page with the water intake point, a page with the microbiological aspects of water, a page with the chemical/physical aspects of water, a page with a comparison of raw water and treated water quality, a page with the water distribution system, a page with water treatment and source, a page with water volume and usage, and a page with leakage mapping. The dashboard is designed to appeal to project stakeholders, decision makers and of course the Norwegian public, and has the chance to be seen as a highlevel status report that is accessible and highly readable. The dashboard is a direct step towards achieving the 13th national goal, which was the driving motivation of the project in the first place, and raises public awareness about the 2nd national objective through the page on microbiological aspects of water, the 3rd national objective through the page on chemical/physical aspects of water, the 8th national objective thanks pertaining to the map page on leakage, the 9th and 10th national objectives thanks to the page on water distribution system.