Department of Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, P.O. Box 1982, Dammam 31451, Saudi Arabia.
College of Architecture and Planning, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University (formerly, University of Dammam), P.O. Box 1982, Dammam 31441, Saudi Arabia.
Sci Total Environ. 2020 Jun 15;721:137659. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.137659. Epub 2020 Mar 5.
Treated wastewater reuse is increasingly important for sustainable water resource management, especially in water-stressed countries located in the world's arid regions that rely on groundwater and desalination process for meeting their water demands. This study investigates the socio-demographic variables influencing public perceptions of reusing grey and mixed wastewater for non-domestic uses: firefighting, swimming pools, and car washing. Data were collected from 624 households in the Dammam Metropolitan Area, Saudi Arabia using a structured questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The results from logistic regression indicates that the likelihood of a household to accept reusing treated mixed wastewater is influenced by gender with odds ratio (OR) of 2.71-2.18, residential location (OR = 1.32-1.03), age (OR = 1.22-0.18) and educational level (OR = 1.33-0.98), with a tendency for more acceptance of treated grey wastewater than mixed wastewater. These findings showcase the difficulty that the country could face concerning the public acceptance of treated wastewater for non-domestic uses to augment current freshwater sources even among the educated class. This study is significant because sustainably meeting the country's rising water demands requires the stringent implementation of strategic wastewater reuse policy, including bold steps towards wastewater streams segregation, and intensive public awareness campaigns to change negative perceptions on treated sewage effluent. This study concludes that a substantial reduction in the country's reliance on costly desalinated water and fast depleting non-renewable groundwater requires complete reuse and recycling of treated wastewater for wider non-conventional purposes.
处理后的废水再利用对于可持续水资源管理至关重要，特别是在世界干旱地区的水资源短缺国家，这些国家依赖地下水和海水淡化来满足其用水需求。本研究调查了影响公众对再利用灰水和混合废水用于非家庭用途（消防、游泳池和洗车）的社会人口统计学变量。数据是从沙特阿拉伯达曼大都市区的 624 户家庭中收集的，使用结构化问卷，并使用描述性和推断性统计进行分析。逻辑回归的结果表明，家庭接受再利用处理后的混合废水的可能性受到性别（优势比 [OR] 为 2.71-2.18）、居住地点（OR=1.32-1.03）、年龄（OR=1.22-0.18）和教育水平（OR=1.33-0.98）的影响，并且更倾向于接受处理后的灰水而不是混合废水。这些发现表明，即使在受教育程度较高的人群中，该国在接受处理后的废水用于非家庭用途以补充当前淡水资源方面也可能面临公众接受方面的困难。本研究具有重要意义，因为要满足该国不断增长的用水需求，需要严格执行战略性废水再利用政策，包括朝着废水分离迈出大胆的步伐，以及开展密集的公众意识运动，以改变对处理后污水的负面看法。本研究得出的结论是，要大幅减少该国对昂贵的淡化水和快速消耗的不可再生地下水的依赖，需要将处理后的废水完全再利用和循环用于更广泛的非传统用途。
