Filling Discrepancies between Consumer Perception and Actual Piped Water Quality to Promote the Potable Use of the Municipal Water Supply in Indonesia

Masayu Nadiya Zikrina, Shinobu Kazama, Benyapa Sawangjang and Satoshi Takizawa ()
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Masayu Nadiya Zikrina: Department of Urban Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku 113-8654, Tokyo, Japan
Shinobu Kazama: Department of Socio-Cultural Environmental Studies, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa 277-8563, Chiba, Japan
Benyapa Sawangjang: Department of Urban Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku 113-8654, Tokyo, Japan
Satoshi Takizawa: Department of Urban Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku 113-8654, Tokyo, Japan

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 16, 1-19

Abstract: Although piped water is a safely managed water source, many people prefer drinking packaged/bottled water, which undermines environmental sustainability by creating waste plastics. Thus, to encourage drinking tap water, this study aimed to identify and fill the discrepancy between consumers’ perception of and the actual quality of the municipal water supply in Indonesia. Through questionnaire surveys in three cities, i.e., Malang, Bogor, and Semarang cities, we found that the majority of the residents, namely, 82%, 58%, and 66%, respectively, drank packaged water. Although the piped water supply from Perusahaan Daerah Air Minum (PDAM) has a good appearance, color, taste, and water quality, sporadic microbial contamination was detected due to the depletion of residual chlorine. However, packaged water was also contaminated by indicator bacteria owing to storage methods. There was a notable discrepancy between the residents’ perceptions of tap water safety and their choices of drinking water sources. The residents perceived spring water as a clean source, which influenced their selection of water sources more than the costs of water. Public drinking stations installed by PDAM helped to win consumers’ trust in PDAM water, indicating that installing more public drinking stations will encourage more people to drink piped water.

Keywords: drinking water; municipal water supply; packaged water; public drinking station; public perception (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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