Construction and Empirical Analysis of Citizens' Water Literacy Evaluation Index System: A Structural Equation Model

This study draws on the existing water literacy evaluation system and the weight of each indicator to construct a three-dimensional theoretical analysis framework of water knowledge, water attitude, and water behaviour. Based on the constructed evaluation index system, research hypotheses were proposed, questionnaires designed, and areas of Beijing, Zhengzhou, Hechi, Qingtongxia selected for investigation. According to the constructed structural equation model of citizen water literacy, the influence degree of the influence factors of citizen water literacy evaluation on the path is discussed. The coefficient of the influence degree of each factor on water literacy is obtained. The research results show that: 1) water knowledge has a positive and significant influence on water attitude; 2) water attitude has a positive and significant impact on water behaviour; 3) water behaviour has a positive and significant impact on water literacy. 4) The following two hypotheses, that water knowledge has a positive and significant effect on water behaviour, and water attitude has a positive and significant effect on water literacy, are shown not to hold. The research conclusions can provide a theoretical basis for the water sector to formulate relevant policies to improve water literacy.

Water Literacy in the Southeast Asian Context: Are We There Yet?

The water situation in Southeast Asia has changed from one of relative abundance to one of relative scarcity. Conventional water management that strategized around the provision of adequate water supply to users has limited sustainability. Though nations in this region have adopted the United Nations Sustainable Development Plan into their water management framework, successful outcomes are limited thus far. Water literacy has a growing importance for improving water sustainability, especially in developing countries. A literature search was employed to extract data on the different dimensions of water literacy in Southeast Asia including the sources and consumption patterns, water governance and management, and sociodemographic elements as well as the various aspects of water related challenges faced. Results from the review and analysis show that a large proportion of Southeast Asian populations are not part of a water sustainable society, and this presents a major hurdle for the countries to meet United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 6 by 2030. Therefore, active cognitive engagement through the creation of a water literate environment is critical for breaking the chain of water illiteracy and to achieve long-term water sustainability in Southeast Asia countries. Overall, this paper provides a critical analysis on lessons learnt from the region that can be mirrored in other parts of the world.

Measures to Cope with the Impact of Climate Change and Drought in the Island Region: A Study of the Water Literacy Awareness, Attitude, and Behavior of the Taiwanese Public

This study assessed people’s water literacy awareness, attitudes, and behaviors to iden-tify strategies for coping with drought and water scarcity. The data from 653 questionnaires were analyzed by statistical validation and using IBM SPSS 22 and IBM AMOS 26.0. The views of students, housewives, swimming pool owners, schoolteachers, and experts were collected and finally examined by multivariate validation analysis. People have a high level of water literacy and developed sufficient water-saving habits (4.60). Although most people believe that tap water is of good quality, it is difficult to deliver and expensive, and cannot be consumed directly. Even though people are aware of the water shortage crisis, willing to carry water bottles instead of using plastic bottled water, choosing to buy environmentally friendly cleaning products (4.08), performing water conservation behaviors on the go, taking showers within 6–15 min, and taking the initiative to notify the relevant authorities to repair water facilities, the frequency of using bottled water is still high due to work and living habits, consumption ability, and mobility constraints (34.6), and they are less willing to buy products with the “water proficiency label” (4.08) and participate in stream-cleaning activities (3.57). The willingness to participate in water purification activities is low. The public also feels that the government is responsible for solving the current water shortage crisis (3.71). There are significant differences in the perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors of water literacy among people of different genders, ages, and regions, depending on their work and consumption abilities, quality of life, and convenience (p < 0.05). Increasing water responsibility can enhance environmental management actions, consumer economic actions, and civic actions, while enhancing water perceptions and crisis awareness can further strengthen civic behaviors.

Diamonds on the Soles of Their Feet: Groundwater Monitoring in the Hout Catchment, South Africa

With the impulse to control and order the disorderly, the threads or tributaries of affect and emotion, which mimic the meanderings of the aquifer itself, are often oversimplified or ignored. These are not anomalies of citizen science (CS) but ‘normal’ and expected ‘disconnects’ that surface when working within a multidisciplinary environment. The article adds value to current discourse on CS by reflecting on the confusing configurations and shifting allegiances that are part and parcel of CS experience. In presenting research from a current project in the Hout Catchment, Limpopo Province in South Africa, it suggests that CS is often oversimplified and does not capture the array of emotions that emerge at multiple scales around CS projects. The authors reflect on the field, which is fraught, fragile and fleeting—and on the intrusions into the field—similar itself to an aquifer with its dykes and flows. Considering CS within the frame of feminist philosophy, it is emancipatory and personally transformative with the element of ‘surprise’ that the end point is undetermined—and the process, however much ‘planned’ is unknown. CS in this instance is a powerful tool for creating virtuous cycles of inclusion and equality and promoting sustainable development through improved water literacy through a grassroot, out-of-the-classroom pedagogy.

Assessing Water Literacy: Undergraduate Student Conceptions of Groundwater and Surface Water Flow

Given the importance of fresh water, we investigated undergraduate students’ understanding of water flow and its consequences. We probed introductory geology students’ pre-instruction knowledge using a classroom management system at two large research-intensive universities. Open-ended clicker questions, where students click directly on diagrams using their smart device (e.g., cell phone, tablet) to respond, probed students’ predictions about: (1) groundwater movement and (2) velocity and erosion in a river channel. Approximately one-third of students correctly identified groundwater flow as having lateral and vertical components; however, the same number of students identified only vertical components to flow despite the diagram depicting enough topographic gradient for lateral flow. For rivers depicted as having a straight channel, students correctly identified zones of high velocity. However, for curved river channels, students incorrectly identified the inside of the bend as the location of greatest erosion and highest velocity. Systematic errors suggest that students have mental models of water flow that are not consistent with fluid dynamics. The use of students’ open-ended clicks to reveal common errors provided an efficient tool to identify conceptual challenges associated with the complex spatial and temporal processes that govern water movement in the Earth system.

Technological Spaces in the Semi-Arid High Plains: Examining Well Ownership and Investment in Water-Saving Appliances

Groundwater depletion has been a consequential problem in Kansas, a drought-prone state widely reliant on the High Plains aquifer. This manuscript explores well ownership’s moderating effects on the relationships between awareness of water supplies and the use of water-saving devices. It assesses one of the only quantitative datasets of private water well owners used in social scientific research (n = 864) and discusses the intricate results of multi-group structural equation models with respondents organized by their water supplies. Well ownership and water literacy are significantly correlated to owning water-conservation technologies, and well ownership combined with access to municipal water weakens the correlations between awareness and owning water-saving appliances.

Investigation and evaluation of water literacy of urban residents in China based on data correction method

This study proposes an evaluation index system of water literacy levels. Thirty-one provincial capitals in mainland China were selected for the survey. The preliminary evaluation results were revised to obtain the comprehensive evaluation value of water literacy. The results of the questionnaire show that the water literacy score is relatively high, but the water behavior score is relatively low; the modified evaluation results are closer to the actual water literacy level of urban residents; and the comprehensive evaluation value of water literacy has a certain correlation with the distribution of water resources in China. The research results can provide theoretical support for China's future work to improve citizens’ water literacy, and the water sector can formulate policies that are more in line with China's water resource status based on the level of water literacy, differences in water behavior, and water resource distribution.

Learning through the Experience of Water in Elementary School Science

To date, limited research has been done on the implementation of experiential learning among elementary school students. The current mixed-methods study examines the capacity of elementary science students to develop water literacy through the application of an experiential learning framework. From 2016–2017, two sections of 6th-grade science students (n = 56) from a gifted and talented school in Queens, NY, were introduced to an experiential-based water curriculum designed to meet the needs of elementary science standards through the use of authentic learning environments, physical and conceptual modeling, and systems thinking. Multiple research instruments were used as formative and summative assessments to determine baseline understanding and quantify the consequences of student learning: pre- and post-tests and pre- and post-drawing assessments, science notebooks, field journals, reflections, and observations. After participation in the experiential water unit, most students increased their conceptual understanding of water cycle components and processes from surface to groundwater, physical properties of matter, and hydrogeological concepts of permeability and porosity. Systems thinking skills progressed over the unit from structural thinking to dynamic thinking. Implications of this study indicate that the experiential learning framework is an effective pedagogical tool for elementary science students to develop water literacy and science and engineering practices.

Enhancing Water Literacy through an Innovative Television Series Focused on Wai Maoli: Hawai’i Fresh Water Initiative

This study examined the ability of four 30-min television (TV) episodes to affect viewers’ understanding of, and engagement in, fresh water recharge, conservation, and reuse. We used questionnaires to examine changes in viewers’ perceived understanding, interest, and motivation after watching episodes at in-person screenings during September 2019 (average 27.5 attendees and 19.5 respondents per episode screening). In general, perception of skills and engagement increased after viewing the episode, and viewers reported a willingness to take action themselves as well as to pledge support for the use of public funds in water-related actions. However, viewers were less swayed on topics such as the “ickiness” of recycled water and on policies that allow black water recycling. At the final screening of the series, we also investigated preference for in-depth content versus a synoptic episode via structured focus groups. With a high degree of consensus, focus group participants felt that topics were better presented in episodes with more in-depth content. These results support the use of long-form, content-rich educational videos to teach water science and increase motivation. In combination with TV viewing metrics, our study thus supports the use of TV as an effective medium for reaching a broad demographic. However, our findings also imply that changing viewers’ perceptions on controversial water-use topics requires additional consideration to support the construction of new beliefs, water literacy, and citizen engagement.