Exploring the effects of extension workshops on household water-use behavior

Abstract

The effectiveness of 2-hour extension workshops focused on residential water conservation is examined. We used a sample of irrigation water-use data for 57 workshop participants and 43 nonparticipants, and applied a fixed effect regression analysis method. The results show that the workshops were effective in reducing attendees' irrigation water use; however, the effect was short-lived. Furthermore, the effect of the workshop attendance depended on the household sample considered, and for a subsample of low-use workshop participants, water use tended to increase following the workshop.