Bottled Water Consumption and Perceptions of Household Water Quality: An Intra-Urban Analysis of Greensboro, North Carolina

Abstract

Perceived household water quality can affect decision-making about bottled water consumption, an issue of environmental justice. Residents who do not trust the quality of their tap water may drink bottled water as an alternative, but people also choose to drink bottled water for other reasons, such as taste or convenience. This study examines patterns of bottled water consumption and perceptions of tap water quality across neighborhoods of Greensboro, North Carolina, with differing income levels. Household surveys were used to investigate residents’ consumption of bottled water and tap water and their stated reasons for consuming bottled water. Results indicate that respondents in low-income neighborhoods report drinking significantly (p=0.001) more bottled water than respondents in higher-income neighborhoods. Concerns about the safety of tap water were a significantly (p=0.00005) more important reason for respondents in low- income neighborhoods to choose bottled water compared to respondents in higher-income neighborhoods. The results of this study indicate that intra-urban differences in perceptions of household water quality are a major environmental justice issue in that concerns about safety drive low-income residents to spend their limited income on bottled water.