Public Acceptance of Pure Water Soquel, A Groundwater Replenishment and Seawater Intrusion Prevention Project

Abstract

WaterReuse (recycled wastewater for drinking) is proven to be a safe technology for drinking. However, public acceptance of drinking highly purified wastewater can still be hard to swallow. In California, water providers like Soquel Water District must be forward-thinking and secure additional drinking water sources. The sources include Water reuse. For the coastal California region, seawater intrusion due to climate change and the over drafting of the groundwater further exacerbates impacts the fresh drinking water to this region. A sound solution is to replenish the groundwater with recycled wastewater to prevent sea water intrusion and increase water quality. But first, the public must understand and accept water reuse, and more importantly at the community-based level. Soquel Water District operates a Mobile Learning Center Trailer and an on-site Learning Center. Each center is equipped with visual aids but no on-site pilot study. After being toured, this project measured the change in public acceptance. This project is valuable for all water reuse projects but, more specifically, smaller water reuse projects, where funding pockets are more limited. This project answers the questions: How effective are visual aids to gain public acceptance of recycled wastewater for drinking? In California, this new paradigm of potable water from recycled wastewater has begun, and is here to stay, but only with the help of public acceptance, to adequately support sustainable water resources. These findings will help public outreach campaigns by providing mechanisms to increase acceptance of an alternative water source.