On the assessment of potability

Abstract

POTABILITY, THE ACCEPTANCE OF WATER FOR DRINKING PURPOSES, MAY BE CONCEPTUALIZED AND STUDIED THROUGH THE ASSESSMENT OF CONSUMER ATTITUDES TOWARD DOMESTIC WATER. 3 ATTITUDE SCALES WERE DEVELOPED AND TESTED IN 6 COMMUNITY STUDIES UTILIZING THE HYPOTHESIS THAT POTABILITY IS A FUNCTION OF THE TOTAL DISSOLVED SOLIDS (TDS) IN DRINKING WATER. RELIABILITIES OF THE SCALES WERE FOUND TO BE .82 AND HIGHER. THE HYPOTHESIS WAS STRONGLY SUPPORTED BY THE DATA: MEAN ATTITUDE SCORES WERE FOUND TO BE INVERSELY RELATED TO THE TDS IN COMMUNITY DRINKING WATER. A THEORY OF CONSUMER ATTITUDES TOWARD TASTE IN WATER IS BRIEFLY OUTLINED, AND THE RECOMMENDATION OF LIMITING STANDARDS FOR TDS IN DOMESTIC WATER IS DISCUSSED. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)