Water use behavior in a multicultural urban area in Sweden

Abstract

The increasing world population and climate change are major concerns for the supply of water needs. Understanding user behavior facilitates the development of effective strategies of domestic water management. This research applied a questionnaire survey and data analysis methods to analyze the water consumption behavior of tenants in a multicultural urban area, dominated by immigrants of different ethnic origins, in the city of Växjö in Sweden. Results showed that the majority of the studied participants perceived themselves to be environmentally friendly. They reported to be engaged in water conservation activities quite often, but analysis showed that they did not have accurate perceptions of their water consumption. Positive attitudes towards water conservation and self-reported water conservation activities significantly but negatively influenced respondents’ actual water consumption, i.e., water consumption was higher. Subjective norms did not have a significant influence. The results also revealed that individual measurement and debit positively influenced, i.e., reduced, actual water consumption. Therefore, water management systems should include an individual measurement and debit system combined with a visualization system to enable tenants to monitor the quantity and cost of their water consumption.