A pilot study into public attitudes and perceptions towards greywater reuse in a low cost housing development in Durban, South Africa

Abstract

The benefits of greywater reuse have been identified to include the protection of water resources, recovery of nutrients for agriculture, savings in fresh water usage, reduction in volumes of wastewater discharged into wastewater treatment works, groundwater recharge and sustainable water resource management. An understanding of public attitude and perceptions towards the reuse of greywater will help to facilitate a positive reaction to the promotion of such concepts. The study involved administering of structured questionnaires to residents within the community through field visits. The questionnaire addressed issues related to attitudes towards the reuse of greywater, perceived advantages related to the reuse of greywater and concerns related to public health issues regarding the reuse of greywater. A total number of 346 questionnaires were administered and respondents were aged from less than 19 to over 60 years. Of the respondents, 55% were female and 45% male. The findings revealed a complex and shifting relationship between attitudes towards and perception of the reuse of greywater. This paper thus presents the findings and assesses certain aspects of greywater reuse. B. F. Bakare

Challenges and Opportunities for Sustainable Urban Farming in South African Low-Income Settlements: A Case Study in Durban

“…There is a need for further work on understanding the feasibility of safe use of greywater for irrigation and attitudes towards such uses. A study by Bakare et al [35] in a Durban community showed a greater willingness to use greywater for toilet flushing and garden purposes at times of drought or water scarcity, and predominantly among younger participants (20-to 29-years-old). Rodda et al [36] evaluated the impact of medium-term sub-surface irrigation of vegetable crops with domestic greywater on soil, plant growth and yield, and microbiological quality of crops.…”

Public perceptions and perspectives on alternative sources of water for reuse generated at the household level

“…The study identified the dimensions of acceptability of reuse and developed an 'acceptability scale' based on the survey results. Bakare et al (2016) administered 346 questionnaires on a similar topic to residents of a low-cost housing community in Durban, South Africa. Residents were asked about their attitudes towards household-generated greywater reuse, perceived advantages related to the reuse of household-generated greywater and concerns related to public health.…”

“…Studies have shown that the views and perspectives of potential users of recycled wastewater generated in the household influence the adoption of technologies at the household level and beyond (Smith et al 2015a(Smith et al , 2015bFielding et al 2019;Amaris et al 2020). Researchers have looked at the willingness to reuse water originating from a wide range of uses and destined for purposes of public or private irrigation (Alataway et al 2011), reuse of greywater within informal settlements (Bakare et al 2016) and on-site greywater reuse in urban areas (Friedler 2008;Gross et al 2015). Others have targeted perceptions of greywater reuse within specific communities, such as among academics and university students (Matos et al 2014) or in developing countries' cities (Akpan et al 2020).…”

Advancements in and Integration of Water, Sanitation, and Solid Waste for Low- and Middle-Income Countries

“…Small quantities of greywater can usually be managed safely onsite with simple technologies, although as access to water increases, so too does the volume of greywater that must be managed (140). The majority of greywater in non-sewered areas is discharged without any treatment into any available space, as it is not perceived to be a harmful substance (141). Multi-stage technologies that are meant to treat greywater at the household level require cleaning and maintenance and therefore are not popular or well used.…”