What’s Wrong with the Tap? Examining Perceptions of Tap Water and Bottled Water at Purdue University

Abstract

The environmental impacts of bottled water prompted us to explore drinking water choices at Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, IN. A random sample of 2,045 Purdue University students, staff, and faculty was invited to participate in an online survey. The survey assessed current behaviors as well as perceived barriers and benefits to drinking tap water versus bottled water. 677 surveys were completed for a response rate of 33.1%. We then conducted qualitative interviews with a purposive sample of university undergraduates (n = 21) to obtain contextual insights into the survey results and the beliefs of individuals with a variety of drinking water preferences. This study revealed that women drink disproportionately more bottled water then men while undergraduate students drink more than graduate students, staff and faculty. The study also uncovered a widespread belief that recycling eliminates the environmental impacts of bottled water. Important barriers to drinking tap water at Purdue include: perceived risks from tap water and the perceived safety of bottled water, preferring the taste of bottled water, and the convenience of drinking bottled water. The qualitative interviews revealed that drinking water choices can be influenced by several factors-especially whether individuals trust tap water to be clean-but involve varying levels of complexity. The implications of these results for social marketing strategies to promote tap water are discussed.

Bottled Water or Tap Water? A Comparative Study of Drinking Water Choices on University Campuses

“…"Environmental Concerns" was still robustly associated with drinking bottled water, given a correlation of −0.126 with p = 0.011. Furthermore, I tested the detailed factors of "Trust in Authority", "Barriers to Bottle Reuse", and "Self-Impact", which are examined in other literature [13,36,37]. The results also showed significant correlations of −0.1243, 0.140 and −0.126, respectively.…”

“…Saylor et al conducted a mixed method research in Purdue University, US and assessed the current behaviors as well as the perceived benefits and barriers to drinking tap water versus bottled water [13]. They found that perceived risks from tap water and the perceived safety, preferred taste, and convenience of bottled water were major determinants.…”

Studies on styrene concentration in drinking water and hot beverages in some settings

“…In Madinah, KSA, and in almost all cities in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and around the world, drinking water is packed in plastic containers. The public should be advised to adapt to drinking tap water instead of bottled water (Saylor et al, 2011). It is also observed that all food and drinks prepared in some homes comes from bottled water as well.…”

Comparison of the Mineral Element Content of Public Drinking Fountains and Bottled Water: A Case Study of Ferrara City

“…Saylor et al [14] report that common barriers to drinking tap water include perceived risks of tap water and the perceived safety of bottled water, and the convenience of drinking bottled water. Results of the study carried out on Ferrara's PDRF help to highlight the weaknesses of these perceptions.…”

“…Many people are convinced that tap water is not good to drink, and bottled is perceived as safer, healthier and of better quality; however, there is no proof to confirm this [10,11]. Indeed, bottled water is not always better in quality than tap water, and the population's fear about public piped water is not justifiable [12][13][14][15][16].…”