Water Reuse Europe Webinar | Exploring Public Perception of Water Reuse

Find out more about the speakers at the Water Reuse Europe Webinar on Exploring Public Perception of Water Reuse | 23 January 2025

Client perspectives on water reuse acceptance

Jos Frijns, Team Manager Resilience Management and Governance | KWR Water Research institute | The Netherlands.

Sandra Sikkema, Researcher| KWR Water Research institute | The Netherlands.

In a collaborative pilot project involving parties in the Dutch water sector, it will be demonstrated how, and subject to which conditions, treated sewage can be made available as a supplementary source of drinking water. One of the biggest obstacles to reusing water for drinking water is a perceived lack of public, and institutional, acceptance. Results of a large-scale public survey disclose the level of acceptance to drink recycled water and reveal the correlated factors determining acceptance. Emphasis is put on different client perspectives and its relevance to targeted acceptance strategies.

Jos Frijns is team manager Resilience Management and Governance at KWR Water Research institute. He works on social values in sustainability transitions such as the public perception of water reuse and strategy development for a circular water economy.

Sandra Sikkema is researcher at KWR Water Research institute. She studies different client perspectives, perceptions of water reuse and strategy development for legitimising water reuse.

Golf and agriculture, a different perception of water reuse.

There are limited experiences of water reuse in France. Currently, less than 1% of treated wastewater is recycled (Cerema, 2020), and social acceptability is often cited as one of the key reasons for France’s lag behind Mediterranean countries. However, aside from drinking water production, French generally expresses support for the use of recycled water in various applications (MTECT, 2023). This presentation will focus on two projects funded through the EC’EAU call for proposals by the Occitanie region. One project involves the Agglo Hérault Méditerranée, a coastal urban area, for municipal uses in the city of Agde. The second project concerns the supply of an Association Syndicale Autorisée (ASA) for agriculture purposes in the Pyrénées-Orientales. The primary objective of the project owner is to secure public acceptance of their initiatives. At the same time, they are committed to addressing user concerns to refine the scenarios being developed.We will present the methodology employed to assess perceptions of water reuse, which includes bibliographic and media analyses, individual interviews, and informational meetings. The presentation will highlight the social reception of the projects in different geographic and usage contexts. Finally, we will explain how these insights have been considered in the development of the projects.

Dr Benjamin Noury holds a PhD in information and communication science. He has been working for 15 years on water governance issues. He suspended his consultancy activities in participatory engineering for three years to prepare and defend a doctoral thesis on the social acceptability of water reuse in 2021. He supports public authorities in developing and implementing water management projects and strategies in collaboration with stakeholders, across various scales ranging from transboundary watersheds to irrigated agricultural areas.

Public engagement with water recycling in the UK

This talk will discuss emerging water recycling schemes in the UK, and some of the activities different stakeholders (including water companies and regulators) are undertaking to understand public perceptions and engage water users in the schemes as they evolve.

Heather Smith is a Senior Lecturer in Water Governance at Cranfield University. She started her career working as a researcher for a Canadian NGO, delivering projects and recommendations for improved water management policies at provincial and national levels. She then moved to the UK to complete her MSc and PhD, before joining Cranfield University in 2011. Heather’s research explores the societal dimensions of the water and wastewater services sector. Her research interests include customer engagement in sector governance, the role of legitimacy and trust, as well as public perceptions and behaviour towards new technologies and approaches, such as water recycling and smart metering. Through her track record of research projects, she has worked with water utilities and other stakeholders in the UK, Europe, North America and Australia. She has a particular interest in the boundary between social science and engineering.

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