SCHENECTADY, N.Y. — Amidst growing water scarcity and concern about the future availability and quality of water, a new GE consumer survey unveiled recently indicates that Americans strongly support reusing water to help the U.S. drive economic competitiveness and protect the environment, according to a press release.
Despite the “ick factor” often associated with recycled water, two thirds of Americans (66 percent) feel positive about water reuse, according to the survey of 3,000 consumers in the U.S., China and Singapore.
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The survey reports that Americans also think that industry and government should play a stronger role in making water reuse a priority, noted the release.
“Population growth, rapid industrialization and accelerated urbanization are driving the need for water reuse,” said Heiner Markhoff, president and CEO — water and process technologies for GE Power & Water. “The survey, which we developed to get a better understanding of the awareness and barriers to adoption of water reuse, revealed stronger support for water recycling than we expected. It shows that the vast majority of Americans understand the value of water reuse.”
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Nearly 20 percent of the world’s freshwater resources are used for industrial purposes and nearly 70 percent for agriculture. The survey showed that Americans feel that the largest water users are most responsible for contributing to water scarcity. Large industries (74 percent), agriculture (69 percent) and utilities and power companies (67 percent) were seen as most responsible for contributing an “extreme amount” or “quite a bit” to water scarcity.
Read the entire press release here.
