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Systematic tracking, visualizing, and interpreting of consumer feedback for drinking water quality
Andrea M Dietrich1, Katherine Phetxumphou2, Daniel L Gallagher2
1Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech, 418 Durham Hall, Blacksburg, VA 24061-0246, USA; Department of Food Science and Technology, Virginia Tech, 360 Duck Pond Drive, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA.
Water Research
|September 3, 2014
Summary
Analyzing consumer water quality complaints can reveal aesthetic issues. Visualizing this data helps utilities identify taste, odor, and appearance patterns, improving water quality management.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Water Quality Management
- Consumer Perception Studies
Background:
- Consumer complaints offer valuable insights into aesthetic water quality within distribution systems.
- Water utilities often collect complaint data but lack systematic methods for processing it.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a systematic approach for interpreting consumer complaint data regarding water quality.
- To identify patterns in taste, odor, and appearance issues reported by consumers.
Main Methods:
- Categorizing and visualizing unstructured consumer complaint data from four water utilities.
- Utilizing spider (radar) and run-time plots for data analysis.
- Assessing human ability to identify specific taste and odor compounds in water.
Main Results:
- Categorized data revealed significant taste, odor, and appearance patterns.
- Consumers and utility staff struggled to identify less common odors like dimethyl trisulfide.
- Utility personnel demonstrated better recognition of familiar odors like 2-methylisoborneol.
Conclusions:
- Systematic analysis of consumer feedback can guide utilities in addressing aesthetic water quality problems.
- Training and standardized tools are beneficial for identifying specific taste and odor issues.
- Utility staff should be understanding of consumers' inability to precisely describe water quality problems.
