Centralised urban wastewater reuse: what is the public attitude? E. Friedler and O. Lahav Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel (E-mail: eranf@tx.technion.ac.il ) Abstract Public support is crucial for successful implementation of wastewater reuse projects. This paper analyses the findings of a questionnaire-type survey (256 participants) conducted to determine the attitude of Israeli urban public towards possible urban reuse options. The paper summarises the support / objection to 13 reuse options and the correlation between support and environmental awareness and perceptions. Results show that a high proportion of the participants supported options perceived as low-contact, such as irrigation of public parks (96%), sidewalk landscaping (95%) and use in the construction industry (94%), while higher- contact reuse options found less support (e.g. commercial launderettes, 60%). No correlation was found between biographical characteristics and support (education, gender, income, age). Based on the results, public campaigns in Israel should focus on disseminating information regarding wastewater treatment technologies, discuss health related issues, highlight the positive economic impact of water reuse and generate a positive public opinion, as these factors tend to influence individuals to support reuse projects. Keywords Public awareness; public perception; social aspects; survey; wastewater reuse Introduction In contrast with common belief, it has been shown in many cases that the importance of economic and environmental feasibility is only secondary to the support of the general public, when implementation of wastewater reuse projects is considered. Irrespective of scientific evidence, public opposition can cause wastewater reuse projects to fail before, during or after their execution. Public opposition to wastewater reuse schemes results from attitudes, prejudiced beliefs, lack of knowledge and fear and distrust, which are often not unjustified judging by the failures of wastewater treatment plants worldwide (Okun, 1991; Wegner-Gwidt, 1991; Jeffrey and Temple, 1999). Urban wastewater reuse projects, and in particular domestic non-potable uses are very likely to cause concern in some population groups that may lead to a complete rejection of reuse schemes. Based on several examples from Australia, Gibson and Apostolidis (2001) state that communities are extremely volatile on issues associated with recycling, and that public opinion often shifts dramatically based on a small change in the information supplied. A number of large-scale wastewater reuse schemes in the USA (aquifer recharge) were constructed but never became operative due to public opposition apparently resulting from insufficient dissemination of information to the public (DeSena, 1998; Hartling, 2001). Van der Hoek et al. (1999) reports on a survey performed in Amsterdam in which 97% and 80% of the public supported wastewater reuse for toilet flushing and for clothes wash- ing respectively. Surveys performed in Australia (Denlay and Dowset, 1994) indicated that public’s reluctance to support reuse increased as the degree of human contact with the reclaimed water increases, with 97% and 96% of the public supporting wastewater reuse for irrigation and for toilet flushing respectively, but as low as 20-30% supporting potable reuse. Bruvold (1984) strengthened this statement based on 9 different public surveys. Bruvold further characterised the typical objector as having low socio-economic status, is Water Science & Technology Vol 54 No 6–7 pp 423–430 Q IWA Publishing 2006 423 doi: 10.2166/wst.2006.605