Survey study reveals how trust and social context drive tap water avoidance in urban apartment residents, highlighting social barriers to public water consumption.
Key Points
To examine the social dimensions of tap water avoidance and determine how social context and various facets of trust affect drinking water choices.
Administered in-person surveys to residents (N=130) across two apartment buildings (one mixed-income, one low-income) in New York City.
Evaluated relationships among socioeconomic context, distinct dimensions of trust, and the decision to avoid municipal tap water in favor of bottled or filtered water.
Only 25% of individuals report tap water as their primary drinking source despite substantial public funding for municipal water infrastructure.
Variations in social context and multidimensional trust significantly drive residents to bypass potable tap water for bottled and filtered alternatives.