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DWI Consumer Market Research

Drinking Water Quality Report of Public Perceptions in 2000

The Drinking Water Inspectorate aims to raise its public awareness and instil confidence in consumers that it’s safe and healthy to drink water directly from the tap.

In order to measure our effectiveness in achieving these aims; DWI conducts market research approximately every three years.

In March 2000, we conducted two forms of research. Quantitative research, which involved surveying 1846 people across England and Wales about their perception of drinking water and their awareness of the Drinking Water Inspectorate. The qualitative research involved 9 focus groups of approximately eight people, where these issues were raised and researched in depth.

Our policy is to make all information of public concern easily available. Thus, below you will locate a summary of the findings of our research and some comparisons with the results obtained from our last research project held in 1997. In addition, we have included the actions we will take to address the outcomes of the research. For further information on any of the conclusions or to make comments on these finding, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Summary of Quantitative Research Findings.

In surveying 1846 people across England and Wales, the following is a summary of the results that were obtained:

  1. Compared with the risk of consuming such food items such as chicken and beef, drinking tap water was perceived to be of low risk.
  2. There is quite a high level of satisfaction with the quality of tap water. 69% of those surveyed were satisfied with it, which demonstrated no change from 1997 in levels of satisfaction.
  3. The main reason for dissatisfaction was found to be the taste or hardness of the water.
  4. 86% of those surveyed drink tap water, only 6% drink bottled only, and 6% drink alternatives such as milk and soft drinks. 46% of those who do not drink tap water don’t because of their dislike for the taste and/or smell. There has been little significant change since 1997.
  5. One third, when prompted, think there is a danger to health from things in tap water. Chemicals and bacteria/bugs were identified to be the main concerns.
  6. 60% had not seen or heard some form of publicity about tap water in the past year. If they had, TV and newspapers were recognized as the most likely sources.
  7. There has been little change in desire for information on tap water since 1997. One quarter claim to definitely want information on the quality of tap water. The drinking water supplier was the obvious choice to meet all information requirements.
  8. There has been an increase in the level of awareness of DWI since 1997. Spontaneous awareness increased from 14% when respondents were unprompted to 16% when prompted. This is an average increase of 11% from 5% in 1997.
  9. Leaflets are the main way respondents wish to receive information from DWI.

Summary of Qualitative Research Findings.

The qualitative research delved into water quality and DWI public awareness issues in more depth. This was achieved by inviting people with varying opinions on drinking water to discuss this in small group situations. This is a summary of the conclusions that resulted from the comments made during the 9 groups that were held in March 2000:

1. Perceptions, Concerns and Behaviour Regarding Drinking Water Quality

Overall, most of our respondents were relatively satisfied with their drinking water. Those who did express concerns about their drinking water generally fell into one of two categories. The first type of concern related to the physical properties or attributes of the water, including taste, appearance, smell, hardness, freshness and temperature.

This type of concern often influenced respondents’ behaviour, causing them either to do something to their tap water before drinking it, or not drinking it at all. Clearly, if respondents felt that the physical appearance of their tap water was an indication of a more serious underlying problem, then this was why they either avoided drinking it or only drank it after doing something to it, such as filtering it.

However, even when the physical appearance of drinking water was not felt to represent any kind of ‘risk’, many people would still avoid drinking it because of psychological reasons: some people simply did not want to drink something that looked or smelt or tasted unpleasant.

The second type of concern related to the composition and/or the provenance of the water. These concerns were often expressed as questions and not necessarily as firmly held opinions suggesting that they represent doubts in people’s minds. These doubts related to questions about what drinking water contains (both ‘natural’ ingredients and any additives), what is done to the water before it arrives at their taps and where it comes from (for example, is it re-cycled sewage?).

Respondents who never drank tap water or who did things to it, such as filtering it, often raised this type of concern. As such, these types of concern suggest that respondents do have some doubts about the underlying quality of their drinking water and that this, in turn, impacts upon their behaviour. However, these same respondents would often consume tap water in other ways (in tea or coffee, use it for cooking or to clean their teeth, allow their children to use it to dilute squash). In other words, while their concerns may put them off from drinking tap water ‘neat’, they are still happy to use it in other ways.

Overall, there were no new concerns uncovered about the quality of drinking water and the findings were very much in line with that of the results obtained from the research undertaken in 1997.

2. Media Coverage and Impact

With two key exceptions (the Camelford incident and the fluoride debate) respondents found it difficult to recall actual examples of media coverage; nevertheless, media coverage clearly had an impact and it tended to be negative in tone. However, there was some awareness that steps have been taken to improve water quality.

In response to some examples of both positive and negative press coverage, respondents spoke about how they interpret and respond to media coverage. It is clear from this (and lots of other work) that the public are intelligent consumers of news stories and they are not willing to accept things at face value. This is true irrespective of the ‘slant’ given to the news. Nevertheless, the negative stories tended to create most impact simply because they tend to be intrinsically more interesting.

Many respondents claimed to be indifferent to the press coverage. This was partly because the topic of water lacks interest. It also stemmed from the difficulty many members of the public have in judging the significance of the press coverage.

Respondents reacted to ‘negative’ stories in several ways. Some treat them with a pinch of salt, seeing the stories as typical press hyperbole to boost sales. Some felt that, while the stories may be ‘overstated’, there must be some element of truth in what was being reported. Others felt that previous experiences of health scares (especially BSE) had undermined their trust in ‘the authorities’.

Interestingly enough, reactions to the more ‘positive’ headlines also reveal that most members of the public demonstrate healthy scepticism. Claims for large improvements in water quality often raised more questions rather than being accepted at face value and these stories were often assumed to be attempts on the part of the Water Companies to massage public opinion.

3. Public Awareness of DWI

Amongst our sample, levels of awareness of DWI were virtually non-existent, although a number of respondents assumed something like DWI would exist. When the existence of DWI was made known to respondents, the most important question was its relationship with the Water Companies. The independent status of DWI is fundamental to it being seen as a credible authority, one which can be believed and whose opinions can therefore be relied upon.

DWI currently publishes water quality test results and takes action against Water Companies when required. There is a need to communicate this more strongly.

Resulting DWI Action Plan

Supported by the findings of the market research, DWI will:

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Updated 11 July 2001

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