How social capital influences community support for alternative water sources

Abstract

2 Highlights  Social capital, measured by involvement in community organisations, was positively associated with community support for alternative water sources.  This association was mediated greater by greater water-related social norms, waterrelated knowledge, and information recall.  These pathways between community involvement and policy support were not consistently observed in all social groups.  These mediation pathways were weaker in urban settings and in those who spoke a language other than English at home. ABSTRACTEnsuring future water security requires broad community support for changes in policy, practice, and technology, such as those involved in delivering alternative water schemes. Building community support for alternative water sources may involve a suite of engagement activities, ranging from information campaigns, through to grassroots and participatory approaches. There is increasing recognition that 'social capital'-the degree of social connectedness, trust, and shared values within a community-is important for building support for pro-environmental policies. However, little research has examined how social capital might influence support for alternative water schemes. We surveyed a representative sample of Australian adults (n=5194).Support for alternative water sources was examined using a series of questions focusing on stormwater harvesting, desalination, and recycled water. Involvement in community organisations (defined as participation or membership) was used as an indicator of social capital. Using a series of mediation analyses, we identified that community involvement is associated with support for alternative water sources, and that this effect is mediated by (i) stronger water-related social norms, (ii) greater water-related knowledge, and (iii) increased recall of water-related information. Our results also suggest that these indirect effects can be conditional upon location, employment status, life satisfaction, and language spoken within the home. These findings highlight the importance of social capital in building engagement in water-related issues, and specifically, building support for alternative water sources. In addition they highlight potential pathways for the association between social capital and support for alternative water sources for different social groups and communities.

Responding to the Drought: A Spatial Statistical Approach to Investigating Residential Water Consumption in Fresno, California

“…In addition, it has been increasingly accepted that local sociocultural context should be considered before implementing a new water-related policy [5]. For example, a strong community engagement can be used to foster water-saving policies [14]. At the individual level, a resident's water-use behavior is likely affected by their community neighbors [15][16][17].…”

“…Such individuals' interactions could also operate at the community level. Dean et al [14] argued that an individual's social context, through social capital, would influence support for water-saving management approaches. The term "social capital" in their study refers to the social connectedness of a community that enables residents to work together collaboratively for mutual benefits [18,19].…”

“…The term "social capital" in their study refers to the social connectedness of a community that enables residents to work together collaboratively for mutual benefits [18,19]. Dean et al [14] reported that social capital, measured by participation and membership of community organizations, played an important role in building engagement in water-related issues.…”

“…Nevertheless, the existence of spatial autocorrelation implies a similar water-use pattern among community members. This can be used to cultivate community engagement in a water-saving culture by providing opportunities for community members to meet and share concerns and ideas [14]. …”

“…Therefore, it is extremely important to create a longstanding water-saving culture in communities. As discussed earlier, community support, through sociocultural interactions in a community, could exert a strong influence on water-saving practices [5,14,19]. Understanding and being able to shape neighborhood effects might become a useful lever to facilitate initiatives that aim at promoting community engagement.…”