Drinking Wastewater

Public Trust in Potable Reuse

Bibliographic Data

ID5338352
AuthorsKerri Jean Ormerod (0000-0001-8997-0529, University of Arizona, corresponding author), Christopher A Scott (0000-0002-6767-0450, University of Arizona)
Year2013
Volume38
Issue3
Pages351-373
Publication date2013-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueScience Technology & Human Values (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0162-2439 • E-ISSN: 1552-8251
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0162243912444736
OpenAlexW2128226406
LanguageEN
Citations received35
References cited32

In the coming decades, highly treated wastewater, known as reclaimed water, is slated to be a major element of municipal water supplies. In particular, planners propose supplementing drinking water with reclaimed water as a sustainable solution to the growing challenge of urban water scarcity. Public opposition is currently considered the primary barrier to implementing successful potable water reuse projects; nonetheless, public responses to reclaimed water are not well understood. Based on a survey of over 250 residents of Tucson, Arizona, this article assesses the relationship between trust in the professional institutions responsible for municipal water development and willingness to drink reclaimed water. Results demonstrate that public acceptance of potable reuse is contingent on trust in the authorities who influence design of sociotechnical systems for water supply and reuse-including water and wastewater utilities, regulators, consultants, academics, and elected local officials. Findings emphasize the highly interdependent social and political factors that inform personal decisions to support or reject potable reuse. The authors suggest that achieving greater acceptance of potable reuse will require bringing local and regional water policy in line with public values, as well as finding ways to incorporate these values into the planning process

Business · Economics · Environmental economics · Environmental planning · Interdependence · Management · Political science · Politics · Public participation · Reclaimed water · Reuse · Sociotechnical system · Waste management · Wastewater · Water resource management · Water resources · Water scarcity · Water supply · Engineering · Environmental Justice and Health Disparities · Environmental Science · Law · Public Administration · Wastewater Treatment and Reuse · Water Governance and Infrastructure · Environmental Engineering

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