IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v17y2020i23p9060-d456887.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

“Who Cares?”: The Acceptance of Decentralized Wastewater Systems in Regions without Water Problems

Author

Listed:
  • Cristina Gómez-Román

    (CRETUS Institute and Department of Social Psychology, Basic and Methodology, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15705 Santiago de Compostela, Spain)

  • Luisa Lima

    (CIS-IUL/ISCTE, Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, 1649-026 Lisboa, Portugal)

  • Sergio Vila-Tojo

    (CRETUS Institute and Department of Social Psychology, Basic and Methodology, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15705 Santiago de Compostela, Spain)

  • Andrea Correa-Chica

    (Department of Social Psychology, Basic and Methodology, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15705 Santiago de Compostela, Spain)

  • Juan Lema

    (CRETUS Institute and Department of Chemical Engineering, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15705 Santiago de Compostela, Spain)

  • José-Manuel Sabucedo

    (CRETUS Institute and Department of Social Psychology, Basic and Methodology, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15705 Santiago de Compostela, Spain)

Abstract

There is a growing interest in decentralized wastewater treatment systems, especially in regions with water scarcity problems or water management issues. This study aims to determine whether the perceived advantages and disadvantages (leading to acceptance) of decentralized wastewater plants in such regions are the same in regions where the population is not aware of these water issues. Firstly, this study systematically reviews previous findings on public perceptions of the acceptance of decentralized wastewater treatment systems. Then, the study details the results of a focus group study to determine whether the elements identified in the literature are also relevant in a region where people are unaware of water problems. The results show that a lack of awareness of water issues seems to be a critical factor influencing acceptance. Reframing the usefulness of these systems by focusing on other aspects, such as environmental sustainability, is key.

Suggested Citation

  • Cristina Gómez-Román & Luisa Lima & Sergio Vila-Tojo & Andrea Correa-Chica & Juan Lema & José-Manuel Sabucedo, 2020. "“Who Cares?”: The Acceptance of Decentralized Wastewater Systems in Regions without Water Problems," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-16, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:23:p:9060-:d:456887
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/23/9060/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/23/9060/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kelly Fielding & John Gardner & Zoe Leviston & Jennifer Price, 2015. "Comparing Public Perceptions of Alternative Water Sources for Potable Use: The Case of Rainwater, Stormwater, Desalinated Water, and Recycled Water," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 29(12), pages 4501-4518, September.
    2. G. Kallis & H. Coccossis, 2003. "Managing Water for Athens: From the Hydraulic to the Rational Growth Paradigm," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 11(3), pages 245-261.
    3. Samantha Redman & Kerri Jean Ormerod & Scott Kelley, 2019. "Reclaiming Suburbia: Differences in Local Identity and Public Perceptions of Potable Water Reuse," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-18, January.
    4. Anna Hurlimann & Sara Dolnicar, 2016. "Public acceptance and perceptions of alternative water sources: a comparative study in nine locations," International Journal of Water Resources Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(4), pages 650-673, July.
    5. Álvarez, X. & Valero, E. & Santos, R.M.B. & Varandas, S.G.P. & Sanches Fernandes, L.F. & Pacheco, F.A.L., 2017. "Anthropogenic nutrients and eutrophication in multiple land use watersheds: Best management practices and policies for the protection of water resources," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 1-11.
    6. David Moher & Alessandro Liberati & Jennifer Tetzlaff & Douglas G Altman & The PRISMA Group, 2009. "Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: The PRISMA Statement," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 6(7), pages 1-6, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sean F. Ellis & Maik Kecinski & Kent D. Messer & Clive Lipchin, 2022. "Consumer perceptions after long‐term use of alternative irrigation water: A field experiment in Israel," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 44(2), pages 1003-1020, June.
    2. Shufen GUO & Zhifang Wu & Ludi Wen, 2022. "Urban Residents’ Acceptance Intention to Use Recycled Stormwater—An Examination of Values, Altruism, Social and Cultural Norms, and Perceived Health Risks," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-16, February.
    3. Furlong, Casey & Jegatheesan, Jega & Currell, Matthew & Iyer-Raniga, Usha & Khan, Tehmina & Ball, Andrew S., 2019. "Is the global public willing to drink recycled water? A review for researchers and practitioners," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 53-61.
    4. İlkay Unay-Gailhard & Mark A. Brennen, 2022. "How digital communications contribute to shaping the career paths of youth: a review study focused on farming as a career option," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 39(4), pages 1491-1508, December.
    5. Mahin Ghafari & Vali Baigi & Zahra Cheraghi & Amin Doosti-Irani, 2016. "The Prevalence of Asymptomatic Bacteriuria in Iranian Pregnant Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(6), pages 1-10, June.
    6. Elizabeth T Cafiero-Fonseca & Andrew Stawasz & Sydney T Johnson & Reiko Sato & David E Bloom, 2017. "The full benefits of adult pneumococcal vaccination: A systematic review," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(10), pages 1-23, October.
    7. Santos Urbina & Sofía Villatoro & Jesús Salinas, 2021. "Self-Regulated Learning and Technology-Enhanced Learning Environments in Higher Education: A Scoping Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-12, June.
    8. Oded Berger-Tal & Alison L Greggor & Biljana Macura & Carrie Ann Adams & Arden Blumenthal & Amos Bouskila & Ulrika Candolin & Carolina Doran & Esteban Fernández-Juricic & Kiyoko M Gotanda & Catherine , 2019. "Systematic reviews and maps as tools for applying behavioral ecology to management and policy," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 30(1), pages 1-8.
    9. Nadine Desrochers & Adèle Paul‐Hus & Jen Pecoskie, 2017. "Five decades of gratitude: A meta‐synthesis of acknowledgments research," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 68(12), pages 2821-2833, December.
    10. Maryono, Maryono & Killoes, Aditya Marendra & Adhikari, Rajendra & Abdul Aziz, Ammar, 2024. "Agriculture development through multi-stakeholder partnerships in developing countries: A systematic literature review," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 213(C).
    11. Alene Sze Jing Yong & Yi Heng Lim & Mark Wing Loong Cheong & Ednin Hamzah & Siew Li Teoh, 2022. "Willingness-to-pay for cancer treatment and outcome: a systematic review," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 23(6), pages 1037-1057, August.
    12. Xue-Ying Xu & Hong Kong & Rui-Xiang Song & Yu-Han Zhai & Xiao-Fei Wu & Wen-Si Ai & Hong-Bo Liu, 2014. "The Effectiveness of Noninvasive Biomarkers to Predict Hepatitis B-Related Significant Fibrosis and Cirrhosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Diagnostic Test Accuracy," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(6), pages 1-16, June.
    13. Vicente Miñana-Signes & Manuel Monfort-Pañego & Javier Valiente, 2021. "Teaching Back Health in the School Setting: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(3), pages 1-18, January.
    14. Agnieszka A. Tubis & Katarzyna Grzybowska, 2022. "In Search of Industry 4.0 and Logistics 4.0 in Small-Medium Enterprises—A State of the Art Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-26, November.
    15. Obsa Urgessa Ayana & Jima Degaga, 2022. "Effects of rural electrification on household welfare: a meta-regression analysis," International Review of Economics, Springer;Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relations (HEIRS), vol. 69(2), pages 209-261, June.
    16. Caloffi, Annalisa & Colovic, Ana & Rizzoli, Valentina & Rossi, Federica, 2023. "Innovation intermediaries' types and functions: A computational analysis of the literature," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    17. García-Poole, Chloe & Byrne, Sonia & Rodrigo, María José, 2019. "How do communities intervene with adolescents at psychosocial risk? A systematic review of positive development programs," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 194-209.
    18. Jie Zhao & Ji Chen & Damien Beillouin & Hans Lambers & Yadong Yang & Pete Smith & Zhaohai Zeng & Jørgen E. Olesen & Huadong Zang, 2022. "Global systematic review with meta-analysis reveals yield advantage of legume-based rotations and its drivers," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-9, December.
    19. Qing Ye & Bao-Xin Qian & Wei-Li Yin & Feng-Mei Wang & Tao Han, 2016. "Association between the HFE C282Y, H63D Polymorphisms and the Risks of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, Liver Cirrhosis and Hepatocellular Carcinoma: An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis o," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(9), pages 1-17, September.
    20. Bishal Mohindru & David Turner & Tracey Sach & Diana Bilton & Siobhan Carr & Olga Archangelidi & Arjun Bhadhuri & Jennifer A. Whitty, 2020. "Health State Utility Data in Cystic Fibrosis: A Systematic Review," PharmacoEconomics - Open, Springer, vol. 4(1), pages 13-25, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:23:p:9060-:d:456887. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.