Public trust in drinking water safety is low globally, study finds

A new study has found more than half of adults surveyed worldwide expect to be seriously harmed by their water within the next two years.

Co-authored by UWE Bristol’s Professor Chad Staddon alongside global health experts at Northwestern University in Illinois, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Southern California, the study sought to understand public perceptions of drinking water safety.

Because perceptions shape attitudes and behaviors, distrust in water quality has a negative impact on people’s health, nutrition, psychological and economic well-being — even when the water meets safety standards.

“We are accustomed to hearing that citizens of developing nations don't trust their water sources but our analysis of this new global data set shows that citizens of developed countries are worried about their water too,” said Professor Staddon.

“Our analysis shows that citizens in even highly developed countries such as Sweden worry about water related harms and this worry seems to be linked to declining trust in water management and public health protection institutions.”

Staddon, Professor of Resource Economics and Policy at UWE Bristol, contributed to the design of the study, data analysis and interpretation, and writing of the manuscript.

Using nationally representative data from 148,585 adults in 141 countries from the 2019 Lloyd’s Register Foundation World Risk Poll, the authors found a high prevalence of anticipated harm from water supply, with the highest in Zambia, the lowest in Singapore and an overall mean average of 52.3 per cent.

They also identified key characteristics of those who thought they would be harmed by their drinking water. Women, city dwellers, individuals with more education, and those struggling on their current income were more likely to anticipate being harmed by their drinking water.

The researchers found that, surprisingly, higher corruption perception index scores were the strongest predictor of anticipated harm from drinking water, more so than factors such as infrastructure and Gross Domestic Product.

Further, even within countries with consistent access to basic drinking water services, doubts about the safety of water were widespread. For example, although less than 10 per cent of UK respondents said that they had experienced harm from drinking water, more than 20 per cent worry that they may in the near future experience such harm.

The researchers noted that it is difficult for consumers to judge the hazards and safety of their water supply because many contaminants are invisible, odourless and tasteless. Without adequate information, many are left to evaluate the safety of their water based on prior experiences, media reports, and personal values and beliefs.

The co-authors suggested actions officials can take to improve public trust around drinking water, including efforts to make testing more readily available, translate test results, replace lead pipes and provide at-home water filters when contaminants are detected, as well as providing improved access to safe drinking water.

The study Self-reported anticipated harm from drinking water across 141 countries has been published in the journal Nature Communications.