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Darren E
Joined: 04 May 2006
Posts: 2075
Location: Dagun, Qld
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 Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 8:28 am Post subject: Information the key to recycled water acceptance: survey |
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from Environmental Management News
1st May 2008
http://www.environmentalmanagementnews.net/storyview.asp?storyid=171856§ionsource=s0
| Quote: | Water expert Tony Priestley says a survey released last month highlights the importance of stepping up the amount of information provided to the public about why recycled water is safe to drink. It also found strong support for the use of recycled water for non-food related industries such as brick manufacturing and power generation.
The survey of over 3,000 randomly selected residents from around Australia was carried out by the Cooperative Research Centre for Water Quality and Treatment, with the results released in the report Community Views on Recycled Water – The Impact of Information.
It found providing assurance that nothing can go wrong with the treatment process would be the most powerful factor in convincing people to drink recycled water, with 45% of respondents giving this answer.
The next most common response was receiving assurance from a doctor that recycled water is safe to drink (36%) followed by knowing that people in other cities drink it (32%).
The survey found a strong willingness for recycled water to be used for industrial purposes but not for cooking or drinking. Some 91% of respondents supported the use of recycled water for non-food related industry and 90% supported its use for watering public parks and gardens.
In comparison, 33% said food related industries such as tinned food and beverage product manufacturers should use recycled water. Some 23% said recycled water should be used for cooking while 18% said they would drink it.
Lack of knowledge about recycled water was another message that came out of the survey, with just 7% of the respondents claiming to ‘know a lot’ about it. About 20% said they know ‘next to nothing’.
RMIT University's Adjunct Professor Tony Priestley told Environmental Management News the results highlight the need for governments and water utilities to provide more information to the public about what is involved with water recycling and the treatment technologies used.
Singapore, for example, began adding recycled water to use reservoirs in 2003. It is mostly used by industry but a small amount is used by households.
Priestly said the water quality is of the best standard and the Singapore Government has had a strong public education program in place to keep residents informed about recycled water. A demonstration site has been built so visitors can witness themselves the treatment process.
US water industry consultant John Ruetten told Environmental Management News in February that providing information to the public is the key to community acceptance for recycled water.
He said Toowoomba Council’s proposal for a water recycling plant was knocked back by residents in 2006 because there was not enough dialogue in the community.
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The report Community Views on Recycled Water – The Impact of Information can be downloaded from http://www.waterquality.crc.org.au/publications/report48_views_recycled_water.pdf
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