Please cite this article in press as: Dean, A. J., et al. How social capital influences community support for alternative water sources. Sustainable Cities and Society (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2016.06.016 ARTICLE IN PRESS G Model SCS-450; No. of Pages 10 Sustainable Cities and Society xxx (2016) xxx–xxx Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Sustainable Cities and Society journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/scs How social capital influences community support for alternative water sources Angela J. Dean a,b,c,d,∗ , Kelly S. Fielding a,b , Jo Lindsay b,c , Fiona J. Newton e , Helen Ross f a School of Communications & Arts, The University of Queensland, Australia b CRC for Water Sensitive Cities, Monash University, Australia c School of Social Sciences, Monash University, Australia d BehaviourWorks, Monash Sustainability Institute, Monash University, Australia e Department of Marketing, Monash University, Australia f School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland, Australia a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 18 December 2015 Received in revised form 5 May 2016 Accepted 19 June 2016 Available online xxx Keywords: Alternative water sources Recycled water Social capital Community support Knowledge and information Social norms a b s t r a c t Ensuring future water security requires broad community support for changes in policy, practice, and technology, such as those involved in delivering alternative water schemes. Building community support for alternative water sources may involve a suite of engagement activities, ranging from information cam- paigns, through to grassroots and participatory approaches. There is increasing recognition that ‘social capital’—the degree of social connectedness, trust, and shared values within a community—is important for building support for pro-environmental policies. However, little research has examined how social capital might influence support for alternative water schemes. We surveyed a representative sample of Australian adults (n = 5194). Support for alternative water sources was examined using a series of ques- tions focusing on stormwater harvesting, desalination, and recycled water. Involvement in community organisations (defined as participation or membership) was used as an indicator of social capital. Using a series of mediation analyses, we identified that community involvement is associated with support for alternative water sources, and that this effect is mediated by (i) stronger water-related social norms, (ii) greater water-related knowledge, and (iii) increased recall of water-related information. Our results also suggest that these indirect effects can be conditional upon location, employment status, life satisfaction, and language spoken within the home. These findings highlight the importance of social capital in build- ing engagement in water-related issues, and specifically, building support for alternative water sources. In addition they highlight potential pathways for the association between social capital and support for alternative water sources for different social groups and communities. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction 1.1. Importance of community support for alternative water sources Alternative sources of potable water—including treated wastewater, desalinated water, and harvested stormwater—provide a means of improving future water security, especially in the context of population growth, climate change, and urbanisation (McDonald et al., 2014; Vorosmarty et al., 2010). One of the challenges in expanding use of alternative water sources, however, is lack of widespread public support for ∗ Corresponding author at: School of Communication and Arts, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, 4072 QLD, Australia. E-mail address: a.dean@uq.edu.au (A.J. Dean). these measures. A number of potable water recycling schemes around the world have faced public opposition that has prevented their successful introduction (Hurlimann & Dolnicar, 2010; Po, Kaercher, & Nancarrow, 2003). Communities have also expressed negative attitudes toward desalination schemes (King et al., 2012) and potable use of harvested stormwater (Leonard, Mankad, & Alexander, 2015; Mankad & Walton, 2015). Many factors influence individual support for alternative water sources, including trust in water authorities and scientists, perceptions of risk and health concerns, perceptions of water quality, knowledge about alterna- tive water, and perceived wider community support for alternative water schemes (Fielding, Gardner, Leviston, & Price, 2015; Leonard et al., 2015; Mankad & Walton, 2015). The finding that perceived community support is an important determinant of individuals’ own attitudes towards treated stormwater (Leonard et al., 2015), suggests that an individual’s social context—and the nature of their interactions with others—influences support for alternative water http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2016.06.016 2210-6707/© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.