ABSTRACT

Direct potable water recycling (DPR) is increasingly recognized as an important strategy in the face of water shortage. DPR often is challenged by a lack of public support and in some cases has been overturned by public opposition alone. Severe drought in Texas in recent years has resulted in several cities in that state considering and passing DPR policies for the first time in the United States. We present three case studies–two from cities that passed and implemented DPR policies and one that considered and ultimately tabled a DPR plan. We use multiple data sources including public surveys and policy maker interviews, newspaper articles, and city meeting minutes to examine the discourse on these policies in public, media, and political spheres. Importantly, we explore the connection between regulatory, structural, environmental, political, and communication factors in each case as they intersect with public attitudes, including expressions of disgust and perceived risk which have featured in experimental research on perceptions of water recycling. By exploring these factors holistically, we are able to examine some of the ways these public attitudinal factors interact in real-world contexts with implications for future policy making and studies of local decision-making under uncertainty.

摘要

面对水资源短缺，直接饮用水循环利用（DPR）日益被认为是一项重要策略。DPR经常受到缺乏公共支持的挑战，在某些情况下，仅靠公众的反对就推翻了DPR。近年来，得克萨斯州遭受严重干旱，导致该州的多个城市首次在美国考虑并通过了DPR政策。我们提供了三个案例研究–两个来自通过并实施DPR政策的城市，另一个考虑并最终提出了DPR计划。我们使用多种数据源，包括公共调查和政策制定者访谈，报纸文章以及城市会议纪要，以研究在公共，媒体和政治领域有关这些政策的论述。重要的是，我们探索法规，结构，环境，政治，以及与公众态度相交的每种情况下的沟通因素，包括厌恶和感知风险的表述，这些表现在对水循环利用感知的实验研究中都有体现。通过整体研究这些因素，我们能够研究这些公共态度因素在现实环境中相互作用的一些方式，这些方式对未来的决策和不确定性下的地方决策研究具有影响。