Public Awareness Assessment of Water Reuse in Beijing
北京市再生水的公众认知度评估

Reusing reclaimed municipal wastewater to mitigate urban water shortage is gaining widespread attentions. Beijing has led the nation in implementation and close to 60% of the treated municipal wastewater effluent is being reused. We evaluated the public's awareness of water reuse practices throughout the city. Based on questionnaire and the SPSS software, we analyzed the people's knowledge on water, wastewater and reclaimed issues and willingness to use reclaimed water along with their socio-economical background. While the public was keenly aware of the severe water shortage and the need to treat wastewater, they did not have clear ideas on sources of water supply, the biggest users of water, and the largest contributor of municipal wastewater. Results show that the majority of the Beijing residents we surveyed were not cognizant of water reuses taken places throughout the city. Greater than 80% of the residents would accept reclaimed wastewater for reuses even for domestic usages as long as not related to drinking and food preparation. However, 63% of them would reject reusing it to supplement the public water supply. In general, subjects at a higher education level, with higher personal income, and between ages of 35 to 55 tended to be more supportive of the water reuses. The gender did not significantly affect the outcome of the survey. To enhance the awareness of the city residents, it suggests forwarding the propaganda and management, strengthening the policy-oriented and facility support from the public, community and government.