Assessing tap water awareness: The development of an empirically-based framework

Area of Science:

• Environmental Psychology
• Consumer Behavior
• Water Resource Management

Background:

• Public awareness campaigns often emphasize water, but lack clear definitions and measurable units for 'water awareness'.
• This deficit hinders the effective evaluation of interventions like public campaigns and behavioral changes.
• A structured approach is needed to conceptualize and measure public understanding and engagement with tap water.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conceptualize and operationalize tap water awareness into measurable components.
• To develop and test an assessment framework for tap water awareness.
• To identify key factors influencing variations in tap water awareness.

Main Methods:

• Developed a conceptual framework differentiating cognitive, affectional, and behavioral awareness, and considering quality, quantity, and system aspects.
• Created a tangible assessment tool based on nine identified awareness components.
• Conducted a large-scale online survey (n=1003) in the Netherlands, segmenting participants by four distinct customer perspectives.

Main Results:

• Tap water awareness in the Netherlands scored 53.5 out of 100, indicating significant potential for improvement.
• Awareness levels varied more significantly based on subjective customer perspectives than sociodemographic factors.
• Four key customer perspectives ('quality & health concerned', 'aware & committed', 'egalitarian & solidary', 'down to earth & confident') were identified as crucial differentiators.

Conclusions:

• The developed framework provides a measurable approach to assessing tap water awareness.
• Targeted communication strategies should consider the diverse subjective views and preferences of different customer segments.
• Future interventions can be more effectively designed and evaluated using this nuanced understanding of public awareness.