Public Perceptions of Potable Water Reuse

 water circle

PI: Caroline Scruggs

Water is in short supply to meet existing demands, raising concerns about new limits on traditional water sources. ARID researchers collaborated with the water utility on a large public survey (n=4000, 46% response rate) to better understand Albuquerque residents’ knowledge of local water resource issues and perceptions of water reuse. Several published papers report aspects of the survey findings, which compared residents of the Albuquerque service area against other populations that have been surveyed on similar topics, created the first model to predict potable reuse acceptance based on demographic characteristics, and demonstrated a new approach for mapping survey data to understand the kinds of education, outreach, and trust-building are needed.