Perceptions of Quality and Household Water Usage: A Representative Study in Jacksonville, FL

Tap Water, Bottled Water or In-Home Water Treatment Systems: Insights on Household Perceptions and Choices

“…While the consumption of bottled water is mainly linked to doubts about the safety of tap water, the consumption of filtered tap water is more related to sensory matters such as foul smelling and taste. Another interesting finding is that the purchase of filters is closely associated with income, unlike the case of bottled water, as noted above [5]. It has to be noted that some of these in-home water treatments imply the increase of the household water and energy consumption, imposing higher costs to families.…”

“…On the other hand, the presence of in-home treatment systems is related to factors such as perceived bad water quality, larger households [27], and single-family housing. Income and housing tenure appeared as explanatory variables only when considering systems requiring some kind of installation: lower incomes or renting a multi-family house reduced the probability of having an in-home water treatment that required installation because of important investments and operating costs [5], and the space needed in the housing units. This might explain why, in other studies, income did not significantly predict in-home water treatment use if pitchers and other lower cost treatments were considered [38].…”

“…The perception of the merits and pitfalls of tap water and bottled water constitute one of the more significant issues in domestic water use and management [1][2][3][4][5]. Health and safety concerns appear to play a major role in deciding which type of water source will be used as drinking water, since the quality of tap water continues to raise preoccupations among the public [1,4,[6][7][8][9][10][11], with some countries asking for the derogation of European water quality standards [12].…”

“…Furthermore, the consumption of bottled water appears to be higher in households with more than three members and in households with children, possibly because of a "caregiver effect" [26]. There is inconclusive evidence regarding income as a significant driver of bottled water consumption, with some studies showing that water bottled usage increases with household income [10,27], while in others, it appears insensitive to changes in income [5].…”

Tap Water Consumption and Perceptions in United States Latinx Adults

“…However, Hispanic adults were still less likely to consume tap water (OR = 0.61, 95% CI = 0.44, 0.83) and more likely to consume bottled water (OR = 1.89, 95% CI = 1.42, 2.52) compared to NH white adults [ 12 ]. Surveys of municipal water consumers in Florida revealed that water filters were only believed to adequately address organoleptics (i.e., bad-smelling water), whereas bottled water was preferred for more serious concerns (i.e., safety, contamination, and health risk) [ 45 ]. Therefore, while filtered water may be trusted more than unfiltered water, filtered water still may not be perceived as safe.…”