Public opposition to recycled water has dampened broad implementation of water recycling technologies across the United States. Using a nationally representative survey of American public opinion, we explore the influence of specific policy relevant knowledge and the nature of Americans’ concerns about recycled water on support for expanded implementation of such technologies. Survey research shows that Americans are most concerned with both the potential for sewage to “contaminate” recycled water, as well as the prevalence of heavy metal contaminants (perhaps in light of Flint, MI), but that despite growing concern in the scientific community about recalcitrant pharmaceuticals in water, this does not enter into the public’s knowledge (at present). Of critical use to policymakers is the finding that Americans who believe addressing climate change is an acute priority were more likely to support the use of recycled drinking water than were their peers who were less concerned with climate change. Interestingly, the model suggests that Americans’ partisan affiliations do not affect their support for water recycling, whereas partisanship tends to strongly influence climate change. As such, our findings suggest that public campaigns seeking to increase public support for water recycling may benefit from decoupling the issue at hand from the larger debate over climate change. The study uncovers a steep knowledge deficit that most Americans confront when asked to evaluate water recycling technologies. However, our results suggest that this serious knowledge deficit is also an opportunity.  Relevant knowledge was the strongest predictor of support for drinking recycled water in our logistic regression model.  Public education efforts on any new technology face an uphill battle, but the payoffs are potentially considerable.

Overcoming the yuk factor: How public understanding, politics, and framing mediate support for recycled water policies

2019 Fall National Meeting

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.