Getting ratepayers on board with water reuse may seem daunting, but those who have been keeping a finger on the pulse of public perception say the times they are a-changin’.
“The psychological opposition to water reclamation is in decline,” says Brent Haddad, professor of environmental studies at University of California-Santa Cruz, who has studied the psychology of ‘the ick factor.’ “It had a strong influence on people for many years, and slowed or stopped a number of promising water reclamation projects. The public communication about reclaimed water has changed, and people are less inclined to care.”
While things are getting
