Why Do People Remain Attached to Unsafe Drinking Water Options? Quantitative Evidence from Southwestern Bangladesh

Abstract

The acceptance of newly implemented, safe drinking water options is not guaranteed. In the Khulna and Satkhira districts, Bangladesh, pond water is pathogen-contaminated, while groundwater from shallow tubewells may be arsenic-or saline-contaminated. This study aims to determine why, as well as the extent to which, people are expected to remain attached to using these unsafe water options, compared to the following four safer drinking water options: deep tubewells, pond sand filters, vendor water, and rainwater harvesting. Through 262 surveys, this study explores whether five explanatory factors (risk, attitude, norms, reliability, and habit) pose barriers to switching from unsafe to safe drinking water options or whether they could act as facilitators of such a switch. Users' attachment to using pond water is generally low (facilitators: risk and attitude. Barrier: norms). Users are more attached to shallow tubewells (no facilitators. Barriers: reliability and habit). The safe alternatives (deep tubewell, rain water harvesting, pond sand filter, and vendor water) score significantly better than pond water and are estimated to have the potential to be adopted by pond water users. Deep tubewell, rain water harvesting, and pond sand filter also score better than shallow tubewells and could also have the potential to replace them. These findings may be used to optimise implementation strategies for safer drinking water alternatives.

Socio-hydrogeological Potential for Managed Aquifer Recharge in the Fresh-saline Aquifers of Southwestern Bangladesh

“…Rainwater is generally accepted to be of good quality Naus et al, 2020). It can be collected everywhere in the region.…”

“…However, the seasonality of rainfall causes it to only be temporally available . Consequently, most people who use rainwater in the monsoon season resort to a different option in the dry season, such as pond water (Naus et al, 2020). Larger storage tanks could help overcome the seasonality of rainwater as a drinking water source, but storing rainwater is challenging, as the storage tanks can be bulky and costly, and the quality of the stored rainwater can deteriorate over time (Islam et al, 2010;.…”

“…The pond water is sometimes filtered through a Pond Sand Filter (PSF) with a typical length of 2.7 m (Yokota et al, 2001), but this filtering has been found to reduce faecal coliforms and E. coli by only 75% (Islam et al, 2011). Users of pond water generally do not perceive their drinking water option very favourably (Naus et al, 2020). We consider consumption of unsafe pond water to bring a large risk of health problems, so we assumed that when pond water is used as a source for drinking water, the necessity for MAR is high.…”

“…In the areas with a medium necessity and high technical suitability, MAR systems have potential to solve the current drinking water problems related to consumption of groundwater with unacceptable levels of arsenic or salinity. In these areas, technical complications are not expected, but the acceptance and adoption of community-run MAR systems could be problematic, as it has been found that people are attached to using their shallow tube wells as source of drinking water (Naus et al, 2020). We therefore recommend evaluating the concept of MAR systems that are solely community-run.…”

“…In areas with both a primary necessity and a low technical suitability, it is likely that community-run MAR systems will be accepted and adopted, as it has been found that people are less attached to drinking pond water (Naus et al, 2020). However, MAR systems are unlikely to function optimally.…”