Despite the public’s interest in using recycled water, research shows that many Florida communities aren’t providing access to the irrigation resource.
Rather than sending treated wastewater to oceans and rivers, recycled water is used in water conservation for landscape irrigation and to help replenish aquifers. Also known as reclaimed water, the water is highly treated wastewater or sewage that can be used to extend an area’s water supply.
A PIE Center survey on the public opinion of water quality and conservation identified how the public uses recycled water. Researchers Alexa Lamm and Tracy Irani, faculty in the UF/IFAS Department of Agricultural Education and Communication, also discussed how residents could overcome barriers to water conservation in order to promote recycled water use.
According to the study, 65.3 percent of participants reported they were willing to use recycled water to irrigate their lawns or landscapes. Only 20.3 percent, however, reported that recycled water was available to use.
The unsatisfied demand for reclaimed water demonstrates a need for communities, researchers and utility companies to work together and identify the barriers to water conservation, according to Irani. Once the issue is better understood, organizations can educate the public on water conservation through the use of recycled water.
“We’re hoping that the benefits of taking the pulse of public opinion, as well as identifying the barriers and how we might overcome them, is really going to be something that will help us all think about how we can enhance water conservation in this state,” Irani said.
According to the Southwest Florida Water Management District, up to half of a community’s drinking water is used for irrigation. Reclaimed water, which is used for drinking, can be used for landscape irrigation, dust and fire control, or even decorative fountains. Reclaimed water costs less than drinking water and reduces fertilizer use as well as the stress on drinking water supplies.
Local residents can also recycle and conserve more water by collecting rainwater in large barrels for irrigating lawns and gardens; 18.7 percent of participants said they used rain barrels to collect water, and 33.0 percent use low water consuming plants in their landscape.
This research helped the PIE Center to understand the public’s water conservation perceptions and behaviors and how decision-makers should communicate their message in the future.
The survey received 469 responses from the public. Researchers targeted a sample of people that matched with 2010 census data in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, age and education levels. The public opinion surveys will occur annually to track changes in the public’s perceptions of water issues.
