10.2190/93D9-JF0N-EEF8-W4PW 93D9JF0NEEF8W4PW 5 Public Perception of Water Quality Risks-Influencing Factors and Enhancement Opportunities 163 187 20020509 20020509 20020509 20020509 93D9JF0NEEF8W4PW.pdf http://baywood.metapress.com/link.asp?target=contribution&id=93D9JF0NEEF8W4PW 2 L. W. Canter D. I. Nelson J. W. Everett University of Oklahoma, Norman <p>Public perceptions of the human health risks associated with water quality deterioration have been increasing in recent years, and a better understanding of the determinants of such perceptions and the communication of these perceptions to the policy community will facilitate water quality management. The objective of this study was to conduct a state-of-the-art literature review on factors affecting public perception of risk and levels of acceptable risk in relation to water quality, and to delineate research opportunities for such perceptions in relation to their usage in water quality management. Extensive literature searches yielded approximately 150 papers or other published items related to water quality risk concerns.</p><p>Although there have been few comprehensive studies of factors that influence water quality risk perception and the delineation of acceptable risk, many individual and combinations of factors have been identified as affecting perceptions held by different publics. Examples of such factors include whether or not pollution is visible, personal usage of the water resource, historical changes from emphases on bacteriological quality to the occurrence of toxic chemicals, education level, age, proximity to the problem, familiarity with the contaminant and source, trust in local public officials, involvement in decision processes, and poor risk communication efforts. Outrage factors such as whether the risk is voluntary or involuntary, familiar or unfamiliar, controlled by self or controlled by others, memorable or not memorable, dreaded or not dreaded, or natural or unnatural, can also influence risk perception. Complications associated with identifying influencing factors include the facts that: 1) the water environment is technically and scientifically complicated due to hydrodynamic considerations, chemical processes, and the kinetics of bacteriological decomposition; 2) there are many uncertainties associated with risk identification and evaluation; 3) effective communication of risk information to different publics is difficult; and 4) conflicts may arise due to different perceptions of water risk between policy makers, scientific experts, public interest groups, the media, and individuals within the general public.</p><p>A fundamental research need in relation to water quality and risk perception is for a basic conceptual model which can be utilized and tested in terms of the factors which influence perceptions of water quality risks held by different publics. The conceptual model should incorporate both individual perception of risks as well as group perception of risks. Acceptable risk needs to be systematically defined and various causative factors or issues should be delineated. Very little information exists on how public perceptions of water quality risks are actually used by policy makers in planning and implementing water quality management programs. Research is also needed on institutional and interdisciplinary barriers to the development and transmission of information needed by policy makers and the general public in their formation of risk perceptions. Consideration should also be given to the degree that narrow disciplinary perspectives influence scientific and technical information communicated to policy makers and the general public.</p> M. Falkenmark, Global Water Issues Confronting Humanity, <i>Journal of Peace Research, 27</i>:2, pp. 177-190, 1990. R. C. Loehr, Groundwater Contamination—The Problem and Potential Solutions, <i>National Forum, 69</i>:1, pp. 26-28, 1989. T. E. James, L. W. Canter, G. Gowda, L. Davis, J. W. Everett, E. Gunn, N. Hanks, and D. I. Nelson, <i>Risk and the Water Environment: Public Perceptions and Research Needs</i>, Research Report to National Geographic Society, University of Oklahoma, Norman, November 1992. E. L. David, Public Perceptions of Water Quality, <i>Water Resources Research, 7</i>:1, pp. 453-457, 1971. K. J. Kooyoojian and N. L. Clesceri, Perception of Water Quality by Select Respondent Groupings in Inland Water-Based Recreational Environments, <i>FWI Report No. 73-7</i>, Rensselaer Fresh Water Institute at Lake George, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York, 1972. F. Battisti, Some Conditions for the Social Perception of Pollution in Environmental Disasters, <i>Mass Emergencies, 3</i>:4, pp. 201-207, 1978. M. Pilisuk, S. H. Parks, and G. Hawkes, Public Perception of Technological Risk, <i>The Social Science Journal, 24</i>:4, pp. 403-413, 1987. J. A. Tarr and C. Jacobson, Environmental Risk in Historical Perspective, in <i>The Social and Cultural Construction of Risk</i>, V. T. Covello and B. B. Johnson (eds.), D. Reidel, Boston, Massachusetts, pp. 317-344, 1987. J. B. Rose, Emerging Issues for the Microbiology of Drinking Water, <i>WATER/Engineering and Management</i>, pp. 23-29, 1990. J. B. Rose, C. N. Haas, and S. Regli, Risk Assessment and the Control of Waterborne Giardiasis, <i>American Journal of Public Health, 81</i>:6, pp. 709-713, 1991. R. C. Cooper, Public Health Concerns in Wastewater Reuse, <i>Water, Science and Technology, 24</i>:9, pp. 55-65, 1991. J. B. Rose and C. P. Gerba, Assessing Potential Health Risks from Viruses and Parasites in Reclaimed Water in Arizona and Florida, <i>Water, Science, and Technology, 23</i>, pp. 2091-2098, 1991. R. A Neal, Evaluating Potential Health Risks of Consuming Reused Water, <i>Journal of the American Water Works Association</i>, pp. 638-641, 1982. L. C. Hamilton, Who Cares About Water Pollution? Opinions in a Small-Town Crisis, <i>Sociological Inquiry, 55</i>:12, pp. 170-181, 1985. C. A. Ibsen and J. A. Ballweg, <i>Public Perception of Water Resource Problems</i>, Water Resources Research Center, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Blacksburg, Virginia, 1969. C. W. Scherer, Communicating Water Quality Risk, <i>Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 45</i>:2, pp. 198-200, 1990. M. G. Shovlin and S. S. Tanaka, Risk Communication in Los Angeles: A Case Study, <i>American Water Works Journal, 82</i>:11, pp. 40-44, 1990. P. Slovic, B. Fischhoff, and S. Lichtenstein, Behavioral Decision Theory Perspectives on Risk and Safety, <i>Acta Physiologica, 56</i>:1-3, pp. 183-203, 1984. J. M. Fitchen, J. S. Heath, and J. Fessenden-Raden, Risk Perception in Community Context: A Case Study, in <i>The Social and Cultural Construction of Risk</i>, V. T. Covello and B. B. Johnson (eds.), D. Reidel, Boston, Massachusetts, pp. 31-54, 1987. D. D. Baumann and D. M. Dworkin, Consumer Perception and Choice of Drinking Water Quality, in <i>Safe Drinking Water: Current and Future Problems</i>, C. S. Russell (ed.), Resources for the Future, Washington, D. C., pp. 355-388, 1978. J. Conrad, Nitrates in Ground and Drinking Water: Analysis of Policies and Regulations, <i>The Science of the Total Environment, 51</i>, pp. 209-225, 1986. O. R. Ehart, G. Chesters, and K. J. Sherman, Ground Water Regulations: Impact, Public Acceptance, and Enforcement, in <i>Evaluation of Pesticides in Ground Water</i>, R. C. Honeycutt, H. N. Nigg, and W. Y. Garner (eds.), ACS Symposium Series 315, American Chemical Society, Washington, D. C., pp. 488-498, 1986. L. R. Martin, Demanding Waste Reduction: The Roles of Public Interest Organizations in Promoting the Institutionalization of Waste and Toxics Reductions, <i>The Environmental Professional, 11</i>, pp. 132-141, 1989. M. Stefanko and J. Horowitz, Attitudinal Effects Associated with an Environmental Hazard, <i>Population and Environment, 11</i>:1, pp. 43-57, 1989. J. Fessenden-Raden, J. M. Fitchen, and J. S. Heath, Providing Risk Information in Communities: Factors Influencing What is Heard and Accepted, <i>Science, Technology, and Human Values, 12</i>:3&4, pp. 94-101, 1987. R. F. Lacey and E. B. Pike, Water Recreation and Risk, <i>Journal of the Institution of Water and Environment</i>, pp. 13-18, 1989. S. S. Batie and P. L. Diebel, Key Policy Choices in Groundwater Quality Management, <i>Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 45</i>:2, pp. 194-197, 1990. S. P. Schwartz, P. E. White, and R. G. Hughes, Environmental Threats, Communities, and Hysteria, <i>Journal of Public Health Policy, 6</i>:1, pp. 58-73, 1985. J. M. Fitchen, Cultural Aspects of Environmental Problems: Individualism and Chemical Contamination of Groundwater, <i>Science, Technology, and Human Values, 12</i>:2, pp. 1-12, 1987. W. W. Lowrance, <i>Of Acceptable Risk: Science and the Determination of Safety</i>, William Kaufmann, Los Altos, California, pp. 75-101, 1976. B. Martin, The Sociology of the Fluoridation Controversy: A Reexamination, <i>The Sociology Quarterly, 30</i>:1, pp. 59-76, 1989. A. Mazur, Media Coverage and Public Opinion on Scientific Controversies, <i>Journal of Communication, 31</i>:2, pp. 106-115, 1981. R. Seydlitz, J. W. Spencer, S. Laska, and E. Triche, The Effects of Newspaper Reports on the Public's Response to a Natural Disaster, <i>International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters, 9</i>:1, pp. 5-29, 1991. J. M. Halstead, S. Padgitt, and S. S. Batie, Ground Water Contamination from Agricultural Sources: Implications for Voluntary Policy Adherence from Iowa and Virginia Farmers' Attitudes, <i>American Journal of Alternative Agriculture, 5</i>:3, pp. 126-133, 1990.