Dean Angela J, Fielding Kelly S, Newton Fiona J
The School of Communication and Arts, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia.
Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.
PLoS One. 2016 Jul 18;11(7):e0159063. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0159063. eCollection 2016.
Sustainable approaches to water management require broad community acceptance of changes in policy, practice and technology, which in turn, requires an engaged community. A critical first step in building an engaged community is to identify community knowledge about water management, an issue rarely examined in research. To address this, we surveyed a representative sample of Australian adults (n = 5172). Knowledge was assessed using 15 questions about impact of household activities on waterways, the urban water cycle, and water management. This survey also examined demographics, psychosocial characteristics, exposure to water-related information, and water-related behaviors and policy support. Participants correctly answered a mean of 8.0 questions (Range 0-15). Most respondents knew that household actions can reduce water use and influence waterway health, whereas less than one third correctly identified that domestic wastewater is treated prior to entering waterways, urban stormwater is not treated, and that these are carried via different pipes. Higher water knowledge was associated with older age, higher education and living in non-urban areas. Poorer water knowledge was associated with speaking a language other than English in the home. Garden size, experience of water restrictions, satisfaction, waterway use for swimming, and certain information sources were also associated with knowledge. Greater water knowledge was associated with adoption of water-saving and pollution-reduction behaviors, and support for both alternative water sources and raingardens. These findings confirm the importance of community knowledge, and identify potential subgroups who may require additional targeting to build knowledge and support for water management initiatives.
可持续的水资源管理方法需要社区广泛接受政策、实践和技术方面的变革，而这反过来又需要社区的积极参与。建立积极参与的社区的关键第一步是确定社区对水资源管理的了解情况，这是一个在研究中很少被探讨的问题。为了解决这个问题，我们对澳大利亚成年人的代表性样本（n = 5172）进行了调查。通过15个关于家庭活动对水道、城市水循环和水资源管理影响的问题来评估知识水平。该调查还考察了人口统计学特征、心理社会特征、接触与水相关信息的情况、与水相关的行为以及对政策的支持。参与者平均正确回答了8.0个问题（范围为0 - 15）。大多数受访者知道家庭行为可以减少用水并影响水道健康，而不到三分之一的人正确认识到生活污水在进入水道之前会经过处理，城市雨水未经处理，且它们通过不同的管道输送。较高的水知识水平与年龄较大、教育程度较高以及居住在非城市地区相关。较差的水知识水平与在家中说英语以外的其他语言相关。花园面积、用水限制经历、满意度、在水道游泳的情况以及某些信息来源也与知识水平相关。更高的水知识水平与采取节水和减少污染的行为以及支持替代水源和雨水花园相关。这些发现证实了社区知识的重要性，并确定了可能需要额外针对性措施来建立对水资源管理举措的知识和支持的潜在亚群体。
