Perceptions versus reality: Assessing residential water conservation efforts in the household

Abstract

Given the scarcity of water resources, it is becoming of paramount importance that water utilities develop effective residential conservation programs. However, how residents conserve water, or perceive to do so, is not yet fully understood. This study explores whether public perceptions align with usage outcomes of water conservation at the residential scale. This study was enabled by a survey deployed in 2016 to residents from the Austin, Texas metropolitan area. The responses were then matched with the corresponding water-consumption records by the local utility. The analyses were both quantitative and qualitative. To assess whether residential conservation is present, the consumption records were grouped using seasons. Two values for a conservation metric were used—if a household used less than 472 lpcpd (set by the local utility) or less than 340 lpcpd (a commonly cited average water consumption in the U.S.). The results show that when it comes to conservation, public perceptions do not align with usage outcomes sought by utilities; further, this misalignment is influenced by seasonality and the metric's value that is applied to assess residential conservation. Additionally, considerable heterogeneity was found in the statistically significant socio-demographic and geographic parameters that influenced perceptions and usage outcomes. By understanding the misalignment between perceptions and usage outcome expectations of utilities regarding conservation, utilities can implement tailored programs to improve the public understanding of conservation and correct for misconceptions that may decrease the effectiveness of conservation programs.