Public perceptions and perspectives on alternative sources of water for reuse generated at the household level

Abstract

Studying perceptions about reuse of alternative water sources informs about conditions necessary for transition to large-scale decentralized water reuse. We administered a perceptions survey to the public based on results of initial open interviews of water management experts in Israel. Experts indicated their views on impediments to widespread household water reuse which became the basis for developing the questionnaire. The latter aimed to understand views among the general public of: (a) willingness to adopt reuse practices from three sources: greywater, air conditioner condensate and roof-harvested rainwater; and (b) preferences for targeted use of these three types of reused water. The survey elicited 372 responses. A maximum-likelihood regression analysis was conducted using independent variables (i.e., demographic characteristics, individual positions regarding the state of the country's water resources and plans for the provision of domestic water (i.e., desalination), knowledge of the reuse practices and views about risks from various uses of the reused water, including off-premise). Willingness to implement reuse practices served as the dependent variable. We found that respondents indicating that they heard of the reuse of the particular types of reuse practices (variable: ‘Knowledge’) was the most significant of the independent variables for all three alternative water sources. Also, using an analytic hierarchy process, we determined that health risks were much more important when compared to convenience of use and costs under hypothetical scenarios of both moderate and significant savings in monthly water expenditures.

The importance of user acceptance, support, and behaviour change for the implementation of decentralized water technologies

“…Extending the RANAS model 11 , research on reuse systems suggests perceived risks resulting from using such systems as barriers to use. Specifically, perceived health risks have been indicated by potential users as barriers to use 39,41 and have been found to be associated with lower acceptance 42 and willingness to invest resources 43 . Moreover, people found the systems less acceptable when they perceived a higher general risk from using these systems 44 as well as when they had experience with the technology working unreliably 42 , a proxy of risk of system failures.…”

The Perception of Guyanese to Urban Wastewater Reuse

“…While there are reuse technologies that provide little or no risk to users, the general public is frequently unprepared for them (Miller 2012 as cited in Portman et. al., 2022).…”

“…al., 2022). Human psychology and socioinstitutional aspects can provide larger challenges than technology, which has a wide range of ramifications for engineers and planners (Goulden et al 2018; Bohman et al 2020 as cited in Portman et. al., 2022).…”

Yeast supplementation alleviates the negative effects of greywater irrigation on lettuce and maize

“…Use of greywater is limited because of the lack of awareness of its potential in supplementing freshwater, especially in developing countries. Studies have shown that the views and perspectives of potential users of recycled wastewater generated in the household influence the adoption of technologies at the household level and beyond (Portman et al, 2022).…”

“…Adoption of water recycling measures is important, especially when considering urban development needs in the face of warming climates and declining water resources and when aiming to increase sustainability in urban planning and development (Portman et al, 2022). The World Health Organization highlights how countries such as the USA, Australia, China, and Japan have widely accepted greywater reuse.…”