On the factors in ﬂ uencing public knowledge and acceptance of reclaimed water from a survey of three cities in northern China

In this study, we analysed the survey results regarding the level of public knowledge about, and general attitudes towards, reclaimed water in Jinan, Weifang, and Yantai, three cities in northern China that experience serious water shortages. The objective is to identify the factors in ﬂ uencing public knowledge and acceptance of reclaimed water and determine the hurdles of water reuse applications. The results showed that: (1) educational background was moderately correlated, and age and monthly income were weakly correlated, with the respondents ’ knowledge about water resources and use; (2) gender, occupation, and economic income were not related to public attitudes toward reclaimed water, and older people and those with higher educational backgrounds were more willing to accept the use of reclaimed water than were other respondents. This study could provide a valuable reference in other regions of China and developing countries facing similar issues of reclaimed water. The knowledge of this study will help to overcome public acceptance hurdles in other projects. In this study, we analysed the survey results regarding the public


INTRODUCTION
China experiences serious water shortages. It is one of the 13 countries with the lowest water availability worldwide, and the per capita water availability in China is about a quarter of the global average. Because of its rapid economic growth and urbanization in recent decades, the demand for water in China has increased dramatically (Cheng et al. ), and it has been estimated that China's water demand will reach 6.6 × 10 11 m 3 by 2020 (Cheng et al. ). With a long-term annual precipitation of 660 mm, groundwater and surface water resources in China are limited. However, wastewater discharges are high and, according to the Statistical Yearbook of China, reached 735.3 × 10 8 tons in 2015, which caused a deterioration of the aquatic environment in some rivers, lakes, and reservoirs, thereby reducing the supply of fresh water resources (Lyu et al. ). To address the disparity between water demand and the supply of fresh water, the government in China is attempting to ensure efficient use of fresh water resources by, for example, diverting surface water, groundwater, and transferring water from the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers to water-scarce areas. The government is also striving to develop alternative sources of water, such as reclaimed water (reuse of recycled water), rainwater harvesting, and seawater desalination. Of these alternatives, reclaimed water has an important role. Locally available, reliable, and, compared with other alternative water resources, relatively low-cost, reclaimed water is used in many areas of China Moreover, to promote the development of reclaimed water, the government in China has released many policies and regulations to encourage its production, use, and management and, for example, will give specific subsidies or tax exemptions to various stakeholders and control the amount of water for some applications. As a result, reclaimed water is making an increasingly important contribution to water resources management in China.
Successful implementations of reclaimed water programmes depend heavily on public involvement and attitudes, as public opposition may hinder the advancement of reclaimed water projects (Hartley ; Hurlimann & Dolnicar ). For example, to alleviate shortages in the fresh water supply, Toowoomba City Council in Queensland, Australia proposed a 'Water Futures Initiative' in July 2005, which included the construction of an advanced water treatment plant to provide potable-quality reclaimed water that would meet much of the region's demand.
However, because of increasing public opposition in Toowoomba, a referendum was announced to ask the residents whether they were supportive of the water futures As a developing country with a unique culture and tradition, people's perceptions and attitudes toward reclaimed water in China are still not well developed. In recent decades, the Chinese Government has considered the technology, costs, and benefits of reclaimed water projects, and the environmental or health risks, but has tended to ignore the public perception and acceptance of reclaimed water.
With rapid developments in economic growth and public media (such as television and the internet), the Chinese public has become more knowledgeable about reclaimed water, and has expressed concern about the environmental aspects of reclaimed water projects (Chen et al. ). Therefore, so that reclaimed water schemes can be successfully

MATERIALS AND METHODS
The study area The geographic locations of Jinan, Weifang, and Yantai are shown in Figure 1. This study had 600 participants, 200 from each city. Of the respondents, 62.5% were male and 37.5% were female. Those aged between 21 and 30, younger than 20, and between 40 and 50 accounted for 52.2, 18.2, and 10.5% of the respondents, respectively. The monthly incomes of 34.5, 30.0, and 22.5% of the respondents were between 2,000 and 4,000 RMB, less than 2,000 RMB, and between 4,000 to 6,000 RMB, respectively. Statistics for Shandong Province for 2015 indicated that province-wide, 15.1% of the population was aged from 0 to 14 years, 75% was between 15 and 64 years, and 9.9% was older than 65 years. The respondents for this survey were randomly chosen from different areas of Jinan, Weifang, and Yantai, including urban and rural areas, public places, and residential living areas.

Questionnaire
The questionnaire was comprised of three parts. The five questions in Part I were designed to obtain information about the socio-demographic backgrounds of the respondents, including gender, age, educational background, occupation, and monthly income. Part II comprised six questions with multiple choice answers, designed to determine what the general public knew about water resources in Jinan, Weifang, and Yantai. Respondents were asked for information about the main water source, the largest water consumer, the water shortage situation, the largest sewage source, where wastewater was mainly discharged, and if they used reclaimed water in their daily life. The attitudes of the respondents towards different uses of reclaimed water were tested in Part III. In this part, 12 different uses of reclaimed water were investigated. They were classified into five groups, including landscape reuse; industrial reuse; urban non-potable use; agricultural, forestry, and animal husbandry reuse; groundwater recharge, and domestic potable and non-potable water. Further, the questionnaire also explored whether the respondents were willing to accept using reclaimed water in daily life, accept rainwater reuse, pay for sewage treatment, and accept a water price adjustment.
The questionnaire tested its reliability among almost 100 participants before distributing it to the respondents. The results of the preliminary test showed that the questionnaire was consistent and appropriate, and that it could provide reliable information. During the interviews, our students had face-to-face interviews with each respondent (the places were randomly chosen from different areas of Jinan, Weifang, and Yantai, including urban and rural areas, public places, and residential living areas). Each respondent was asked to choose one answer for each question and they were not given any hints or suggestions. After the interview, our students checked the answers for each questionnaire. In total, 601 questionnaires were distributed, and finally 600 questionnaires were validated (only one questionnaire contained some uncompleted contents). The content of the questionnaire can be found in Zhu et al. ().

RESULTS
The relationship between the ages of the respondents and their knowledge about water resources is shown in Figure 2.
This shows that the people younger than 40 years (the groups including those younger than 20, between 21 and 30, and from 31 to 40) were much more knowledgeable about the main sources of water than those older than 40 years, which included those between 41 and 50 years and those older than 50 years. There was no significant difference among the age groups younger than 40 years for the question about the largest water user, but the group over 50 years was the most knowledgeable. The respondents from 31 to 40 years were most likely to know where wastewater mainly went, whereas those between 41 and 50 years knew little. Of all the groups, the younger respondents, between 21 and 30 years, were the most willing to use reclaimed water, whereas of all the groups, the old people over 50 years were the most resistant to using reclaimed water.
The influence of educational background on the knowledge of the respondents about water resources is shown in Figure 3. Those educated to Bachelor degree level had much more knowledge about the main water source than the other educational groups. With the exception of those with high school degrees, the higher the education background, the more knowledgeable the respondents were about the largest water user and where wastewater mainly went. The highly educated respondents were generally more willing to use reclaimed water.
The relationship between the monthly incomes of the respondents and their knowledge about water resources is shown in Figure 4. Those with monthly incomes under 2,000 RMB and from 2,000 to 4,000 RMB were the most knowledgeable about the main source of water. Middleincome respondents (those with incomes from 4,000 to  6,000 RMB and from 6,000 to 8,000 RMB) knew more about the largest water user than other people. Of all the respondents, those with incomes of between 4,000 and 6,000 RMB knew least about where most sewage went. Those with incomes between 2,000 and 4,000 RMB and between 4,000 and 6,000 RMB were much more willing to use reclaimed water than those with the lowest incomes (under 2,000 RMB) and those with the highest incomes (between 6,000 and 8,000 RMB and more than 8,000 RMB).
The responses of different age groups to the selected questions are shown in Figure 5. Those over 50 years old were always the most willing to accept reclaimed water and rainwater reuse, and to use reclaimed water for nonpotable purposes. While older people were generally more willing to accept the use of reclaimed water as a source of domestic non-potable water, those older than 50 years old were the most resistant towards using reclaimed water as domestic potable water. Apart from the 21 to 30 age group, the older the respondents, the more willing they were to pay for sewage treatment. The respondents older than 50 were also the most supportive of water price reform.
The relationship between the educational background of the respondents and their acceptance of the use of reclaimed water is illustrated in Figure 6. People with a higher educational level were more willing to accept reclaimed water, use it as a domestic potable water source, and pay for sewage treatment. Highly educated respondents (with Bachelor, Masters, and PhD degrees) were more willing to accept rainwater reuse, use reclaimed water for domestic non-potable purposes, and accept water   found that age and receptivity to reclaimed water were not correlated. This study showed that the age of respondents was weakly related to their knowledge about water Some studies have shown that educational level and acceptance of reclaimed wastewater reuse were correlated.
For example, Gu et al. () found that people with a higher level of education were more inclined to use reclaimed wastewater and were more willing to pay for reclaimed water than those with a lower level of education.