A new study finds that more than half of adults worldwide surveyed expect to experience a serious threat from their drinking water within the next two years. The study, led by global health experts from Northwestern University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, aimed to understand public perceptions about the safety of drinking water.
Perceptions shape attitudes and behaviors, so distrust in water quality has negative effects on people’s health, nutrition, mental and economic well-being, even if the water meets safety standards.
If we don’t think the water is safe, we will avoid using it.”
Sela Young, a professor of anthropology and global health at Northwestern University and lead author of the new study.
“Not trusting tap water leads to buying packaged water, which is very expensive and bad for the environment; drinking soda and sugary drinks, which are bad for your teeth and your waistline; and avoiding unhealthy and expensive home cooking in favor of highly processed prepared foods and going to restaurants,” Young said. “People exposed to unsafe water also experience greater psychological stress and are at higher risk of depression.”
Young is the Morton O. Shapiro Faculty Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies and a faculty fellow at the Paula M. Trinens Institute for Sustainability and Energy, and co-leads the Buffett Center for International Studies’ Visible Water Insecurity Working Group.
Using nationally representative data from the 2019 Lloyd’s Register Foundation World Risk Poll covering 148,585 adults across 141 countries, the authors found high rates of expected harm from water supplies, with the highest in Zambia and the lowest in Singapore, with an overall average of 52.3%.
They also identified key characteristics of people who believe their drinking water will cause harm: women, urban residents, those with higher education, and those struggling with their current income were more likely to expect their drinking water to cause harm.
The researchers unexpectedly found that a high score on the Corruption Perceptions Index was the strongest predictor of expected harm from drinking water, more so than factors such as infrastructure and gross domestic product.
Moreover, doubts about water safety are widespread even in countries with reliable access to basic drinking water services, including in the United States, where 39% of people surveyed expect their drinking water to suffer serious short-term damage.
“Our study highlights the imperative to provide safe drinking water and ensure people have confidence in their water source,” said Joshua Miller, a doctoral student at the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health and lead author of the study.
Researchers point out that many of the contaminants are invisible, odorless and tasteless, making it difficult for consumers to judge whether their tap water is dangerous or safe. Without sufficient information, many people are forced to assess the safety of tap water based on past experiences, media reports and their personal values and beliefs.
“It’s possible that people are making the right decisions about the safety of their water,” Young said. “The good people of Flint didn’t trust their water, and they were right.”
The co-authors suggest actions that authorities can take to improve public confidence in drinking water, including making testing more readily available and translating test results, replacing lead pipes, providing home water filters when contaminants are detected, and improving access to safe drinking water.
“This is an effort that can raise attention and political will to prioritize these services in national development plans and strategies, bringing us closer to achieving universal access to safe drinking water,” said Aaron Salzberg, director of the Water Institute at the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health.
Previously, Mr. Salzberg served as Special Coordinator for Water Resources at the U.S. Department of State, where he was responsible for managing the development and implementation of U.S. foreign policy on drinking water and sanitation, water resources management, and transboundary water issues.
The study, “Self-reported expected harm from drinking water in 141 countries,” was published today (August 26) in the journal Nature Communications.
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Journal References:
Miller, JD, et al. (2024). Self-reported expected harm from drinking water in 141 countries. Nature Communications. doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-51528-x.
