Predicting community behaviour:Indirect potable reuse of wastewater through Managed Aquifer Recharge

[摘要] Executive Summary: This report describes the most recent work in an ongoing research program that has been designed to systematically investigate the major factors governing people’s behavioural intentions to use or reject recycled water in schemes where the water’s use involves close personal contact. In this stage of the research program, Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) is explored for indirect potable reuse. Initial investigations into the scientific and community requirements of MAR are underway and is the focus of a major, multi-disciplinary study being funded under the Western Australian Premier’s Water Foundation. The work reported here is one work-package in the investigation.A pre-refined predictive behavioural model, incorporating a range of psycho-sociological variables, is tested. The variables in the model were hypothesised to have significant influence over people’s decisions to act favourably or otherwise towards recycled water schemes. A scenario outlining a MAR scheme for indirect potable reuse in metropolitan Perth, Western Australia, was administered to 500 randomly selected Perth householders. The survey found that, while over half of respondents intended to support a MAR scheme in Perth, a large proportion were not forming strong convictions about the scheme, expressing moderate and qualified responses in relation to intended behaviour towards the scheme. Roughly one-quarter of respondents gave responses that indicated refusal to support the scheme. While there were no differences based on education levels, income levels, family unit and age, males’ behavioural intentions toward the scheme were significantly more positive than females.The results of structural equation modelling replicated the major findings of a preliminary study. Despite the inclusion of additional variables, it was again emotion and subjective norm that were found to have the strongest direct influence on intended behaviour. Fairness, trust, and perceived health and system risks also had significant influences. Knowledge once again failed to contribute significantly to the prediction of intended behaviour. The model was found to be extremely strong in its predictive power, able to account for 82% of the variance in intended behaviour.The importance of risk became more apparent when it was modelled in isolation, accounting for 69% of the total variance in intended behaviour. Of the three types of risk investigated, risk to human health had the most bearing on people’s intentions toward the scheme. The strong influence of risk here may be somewhat surprising considering its role in the overall model, but correlations between risk, trust and variables like emotion and subjective norm suggest that its direct influences on intended behaviour are belied by its strong relationships with the other variables. That is, much of the influence of something like environmental risk on intended behaviour is accounted for by other variables.The results from this phase of the research program support the notion that a model such as the one presented here can act as a useful tool for decision-making agencies to identify the key factors in their communities that are likely to influence their support or otherwise of proposed recycled water schemes and their relative importance in determining decisions.

[发布机构] CSIRO

[学科分类] 地球科学(综合)