A recently completed survey supported by the CWN and Health Canada revealed startling statistics. One hundered and twenty four people (15 % of 829 respondents), who receive their water from municipal water utilities, said drinking tap water poses a moderate to serious problem for their families' health. A further 186 people said tap water poses a minor health problem. One in two people said bottled water was either a little or much safer than tap water. Canadians are willing to spend money to "defend" themselves from "perceived" health risks in tap water by purchasing substitutes, often at prices that are 1000 times higher.
This project argues that, in order to have effective and cost efficient management of water supply systems, we need to identify factors that lead consumers to purchase tap water substitutes and to link these factors to consumers' perceptions about health risks.
Experts argue that health risks are minimal; however there is a gap between expert opinion and public perception. With a better understanding of these perceptions and what drives them, municipal officials can provide information about the safety of the municipal water supply that can be better understood by consumers and make better infrastructure decisions.
In this project we identify and quantify factors that explain consumers' decisions to purchase tap water substitutes. One area of research gaining interest in the US is whether fathers and mothers have different perceptions of health risks, particularly related to children. A second area is the health risk perceptions of seniors since they generally face higher risks. Survey coverage is national therefore we can explore provincial/urban-rural differences within Canada.
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