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TAISE releases the latest sustainable water resources poll results

Nearly 90% of people approve of technology-based water (recycled water, seawater) as new water source

 

The Taiwan Institute for Sustainable Energy (TAISE) announced the results of the ‘Sustainable Water Resources Poll in Response to Climate Change’ on World Water Day, March 22nd. Nearly 90% of those surveyed approve of recycled water, seawater and other forms of technologically-derived water as new water sources. However, there are still many people who lack an adequate understanding of the domestic water supply and demand situation, and their concern for water resources is not limited to people's livelihood and industry, but has extended to wider aspects such as society and the environment.

Many people are accustomed to thinking of water as an unlimited resource. In fact, fresh water only accounts for 2.5% of global water resources, and not all of it can be used by humans. As climate change increases the risk of water scarcity, the development of new water sources has become an important issue. The survey found that respondents had a high degree of acceptance for establishing recycled water plants and seawater desalination plants, accounting for 89.9% and 88.5% respectively, which is higher than traditional surface/groundwater development, and they agreed that industrial water should prioritize using recycled water, seawater, and other emerging water sources. 

Jiang Benji, Honorary Professor of the Institute of Environmental Engineering at National Taiwan University, said that during the development of new industrial areas and urban planning areas in the future, a dual water supply system can be considered to increase recycled water usage. However, the development of recycled water and seawater often faces difficulties such as regulatory standards, engineering technology limitations, and financial costs. Therefore, it is necessary to put forward specific countermeasures for improvement. For example, Taiwan’s average household water price (9.24 yuan/kWh) ranks third lowest in the world, only higher than India (4.20 yuan/kWh) and Sri Lanka (2.58 yuan/kWh). Water prices should be adjusted and water consumption fees should be levied to avoid unnecessary waste.

Jiang Benji further explained that recycled water has specific uses, and the government should set reasonable regulations and standards to reward recycled water and tap water equitably. At the same time, it is necessary to develop key technologies and support related industries to cooperate with water supply customization and dedicated delivery. Filtering seawater requires high energy consumption and high costs. Setting up green power facilities in factories to generate electricity independently, setting up energy recovery facilities, adopting off-peak power consumption, and building factories as close as possible to industrial areas, science parks and water supply plants could be considered to reduce loopback costs, etc.

 

Inadequate public understanding of domestic water supply and demand situation

It is worth noting that the survey found that many people have an inadequate understanding of the domestic water supply and demand situation. The public generally believes that the main source of domestic water is reservoirs, and more than half of them believe that waste water recycling is also one of the main water sources. There is a significant gap between this and the domestic water supply, where reservoir water accounts for about 25%, river water accounts for about 42%, and groundwater accounts for about 33%. In terms of water use, about 65% of those surveyed believe that industrial use is the highest, followed by domestic water use, while agricultural water use is the lowest. In fact, the opposite is true: agricultural water actually accounts for about 70% of the total water use, domestic water accounts for about 20%, and industrial water only uses about 10%.

Chen Shenxian, Chair of Zhongxing Engineering Consulting Co. Ltd., believes that this survey result may be related to the fact that reservoirs are the most reliable water sources, and when water is scarce, most of the relevant information is obtained from the media. As the economy has continued to develop in recent years, water demand for industrial uses has grown but water supply is often insufficient, and this is commonly exposed in the media. He suggested, "accurate information can be disseminated through various channels so that the public can understand the real situation."

You Jingyun, a Professor at the Hydraulic Engineering Laboratory of National Taiwan University, analyzed from the survey responses that interviewees are very concerned about issues such as climate change affecting water supply and ecosystem environments, and are further thinking about the causal connection between water shortages and climate change. Responses touch on diverse social issues, including the diversion of agricultural water, raising water prices, etc., while the section concerning social value choices will be relatively conservative. "On the whole, people's concern about water resources nowadays is no longer limited to their livelihood and industry, but has expanded to wider aspects such as society and the environment."

Furthermore, concerning which methods respondents believed could make water resource usage more efficient, the survey found that ‘reducing water leakage losses’ had the highest proportion, accounting for 91.7% of responses, followed by ‘promoting water conservation’ (89.4%), ‘improving industrial water use efficiency’ (88.1%), and so on. If the water price rises, the acceptable water price increase rate according to respondents is ‘below 10%’, accounting for 50.9% of those surveyed, followed by ‘10-20%’ (11.6% of respondents), ‘more than 40%’ and ‘20-30%’ (collectively 3.6% of respondents). Another 10.6% of the respondents said they would not accept any price rise at all, and 18.4% had no clear opinion.

 

Taking a comprehensive look at the results of polls and international trends, we can grasp three key points

Ambassador Dr. Eugene Chien, Chairman of TAISE, pointed out that the average annual rainfall in Taiwan (2,500 mm) is 2.6 times that of the average of all countries (973 mm), but it is listed as the 18th most water-scarce country among 146 countries worldwide. In particular, climate change may intensify droughts, and it is necessary to take even more active actions in the development, conservation, and utilization management of water resources. Looking at the poll results and international trends, he put forward the following three points:

 

1. The possibility of recycled water as "open source"

In 2021, the European Union conducted a public poll in the Netherlands and the UK, finding that more than 70% of respondents can accept drinking water derived from recycled water. Taiwanese people have a high degree of acceptance for technological water production, and there is widespread support regardless of age, gender, educational background, or even political party affiliation. Although it is still limited to the use of recycled water for non-human contact and industrial water, this shows that technological water production will be a very good ‘open-source’ approach in Taiwan.

2. Information about water resources is open and transparent but there is insufficient publicity

Whether it is Taiwan's water consumption situation, water status lights, or other details, publicly available information is on the website of the Water Resources Agency. However, the public's perception is still far from the reality. This point requires special attention. Excluding official channels, only by cooperating and using social media platforms with civil units can we strengthen the public’s understanding of water resources, and then effectively promote individual actions as well as more correct judgments and actions concerning water resources issues, education and public discourse. This includes implementing water conservation in daily life; regularly inspecting home pipelines; choosing washing machines, toilets and other products with water-saving labels; setting up household rainwater recovery systems in homes; and so on. Even small changes can result in more efficient uses of water resources.

3. The public’s conception of water resources and ecological conservation is in line with international standards

The concept paper of the UN Water Conference mentioned: "pollution of a river’s upstream will reduce the growth of its downstream, and poor wastewater management will also lead to a large amount of greenhouse gas emissions, leading to climate change." The findings of the poll highlight that the Taiwanese people have been educated for many years on how climate change has affected the use of water resources and the ecology of rivers, which is worth confirming. Given that river water is Taiwan's largest source of water, maintaining rivers and their ecosystems is also protecting our water quality and water sources.

The price of water in Taiwan is inexpensive, but the cost of water treatment, transportation, and storage is much higher than we may have in mind. Ambassador Dr. Eugene Chien emphasized that ‘fresh water’ is an increasingly precious resource, sharing that "we should re-examine the value of water and use a more pragmatic and fair method to measure water-related services."

 

This survey was commissioned by the Taiwan Institute for Sustainable Energy and conducted by Trend Poll Company. In mid-January 2023, adults over the age of 18 in 22 counties and cities in Taiwan were interviewed by telephone. The confidence interval is 95% with a sampling error of +/- 3% and sample size of 1087 participants.

Media Contact: Commissioner: Hank Yan

02-2769-8968#835 / hankyen@taise.org.tw

 

Image／'2023 Public Opinion Survey on Water Resources in Response to Climate Change’ Press Group Photo

 

Image／Ambassador Dr. Eugene Chien, Chairman of TAISE

 

Image／Jiang Benji, Honorary Professor of the Institute of Environmental Engineering at National Taiwan University

 

Image／Chen Shenxian, Chair of Zhongxing Engineering Consulting Co. Ltd.

 

Image／You Jingyun, Professor at the Hydraulic Engineering Laboratory of National Taiwan University