Basic Psychological Needs Influencing the Regularity of Domestic Rainwater Tank Maintenance

Abstract

Inadequate and irregular maintenance of rainwater tanks can lead to health risks, affecting individual users (e.g. home owners and others who may use/consume the water) and the general public more indirectly, through the spread of water borne disease and potentially costly health impacts. This study examines the relationship between basic psychological needs (competence, autonomy, relatedness) and regularity of rainwater tank maintenance for urban non-potable use tanks. A mail out survey was sent to urban householders in South East Queensland, Australia, who lived in new detached dwellings with mandated rainwater tanks (N = 754). Multiple regression analysis found that competence, autonomy and relatedness accounted for a moderate-high amount of variance (24 %) in regular tank maintenance behaviour; competence was found to be the most dominant factor in explaining maintenance behaviour, indicating that people were more motivated to carry out maintenance if they perceived themselves as able to do the maintenance required. As decentralised water systems become more popular in urban areas, it is crucial that citizens maintain their alternative water infrastructure to minimise public health risks associated with water- and vector-borne illnesses. This research is crucial to understanding psychological drivers of tank maintenance, particularly among individuals who did not choose to adopt decentralised tank infrastructure (i.e. were mandated to install the infrastructure) and, therefore, may be unfamiliar and unmotivated to use or maintain their tanks for non-potable applications.