Public perceptions of physical and virtual water in China

Ensuring access to water is one of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. Water demand management, which has emerged as an important approach to secure water supply, should be underpinned by a good understanding of how the public perceive their use of water. In this study, we investigated public perceptions of physical and virtual water in China through online surveys using the multi-level regression models (two-level models). Based on 3262 responses, we found that overall, participants underestimated water uses and differences between water uses (daily potable water of an adult, shower, toilet flushing, etc.). Most participants did not possess the knowledge of virtual water embedded in their daily consumed products. Individuals showed rather different perceptions in water use, which were affected by gender, age, education, resource and environmental attitude, water saving behaviors, water price and residential water source. In combination with previous findings in the United States, we concluded that despite different natural water endowment and socio-economic and cultural conditions, underestimation of water use is commonly shared by Chinese and Americans. This highlights a need of strengthening public knowledge of water use. The results are useful in informing policies to enhance the public's awareness of water use towards improved water demand management.