Public acceptability of treated wastewater reuse in Saudi Arabia: Implications for water management policy

Nuhu Dalhat Mu'azu; Ismaila Rimi Abubakar; Nawaf I Blaisi

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.137659

Public acceptability of treated wastewater reuse in Saudi Arabia: Implications for water management policy

Sci Total Environ. 2020 Jun 15:721:137659. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.137659. Epub 2020 Mar 5.

Authors

Nuhu Dalhat Mu'azu¹, Ismaila Rimi Abubakar², Nawaf I Blaisi³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, P.O. Box 1982, Dammam 31451, Saudi Arabia. Electronic address: nmdalhat@iau.edu.sa.
² College of Architecture and Planning, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University (formerly, University of Dammam), P.O. Box 1982, Dammam 31441, Saudi Arabia. Electronic address: irabubakar@iau.edu.sa.
³ Department of Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, P.O. Box 1982, Dammam 31451, Saudi Arabia.

PMID: 32182459
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.137659

Abstract

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.

Keywords: Arid-region water scarcity; Grey and mixed wastewater; Non-conventional water sources; Public perception; Sustainable water management; Treated sewage effleunt reuse.