Public use and evaluation of reclaimed water

Methods used in a survey in California of public attitudes towards the use of reclaimed water are described and results of the studies are tabulated and discussed (see also Water Pollution Abstracts, 1972, 45, Abstr. No. 1365). More than 50 per cent of those interviewed did not recommend the use of reclaimed water for purposes involving personal contact, but there was no significant opposition to the various low-contact uses of such water at present practised in California. The public did not favour a low degree of sewage treatment and discharge to the environment without further beneficial use.