Consumer Acceptability Assessment of Drinking Water using Choice Experiments

Abstract

In recent years, the public has become more conscious of the quality of drinking water. Meanwhile, public water utilities are required to consider the impacts of their operations on the global environment. In this study, a questionnaire survey was conducted in two districts, Kita-ku and Musashino-shi, Tokyo, and the consumer acceptability of energy consumption or drinking water quality was evaluated in monetary value using choice experiments. Choice experiments also evaluated consumer' s acceptance of introducing a dual water supply system, where highly purified drinking water would be supplied separately from the domestic use. The results found that residents' evaluation for the improvement of drinking water quality was not significantly different between the two districts. However, residents of Musashino shi showed more satisfaction to their present water quality, and an expectation to the dual water supply system was higher among those of Kita-ku. The Musashino-shi residents valuated the reduction of energy consumption more highly thanthe Kita-ku residents. No relation between satisfaction with the present water quality and evaluation of the reduction in energy consumption was observed in both districts, suggesting that the higher satisfaction with drinking water quality does not necessarily leads to the acceptance of energy-saving water supply system among residents.