Water Use and Pollution Recognition from the Viewpoint of Local Residents in Dhaka, Bangladesh

This study focuses on urban and rural house dwellers’ opinions about their own as well as commercial, industrial and agricultural water use and pollution issues in Dhaka, Bangladesh. One hundred respondents were asked to make comparative choices on five water use sectors arranged in pairs, about five water issues regarding water shortage, earning money, damage due to water shortage, water pollution and water loss during use. To analyze the homogeneities and variations in perceptions, the respondents were categorized into five clusters (P1–P5), based on the view of comparative importance of each sector, where clusters P1–P3 consisted of mostly urban respondents, while P4–P5 were of rural respondents. Clusters P1 and P5 thought of industries as the most responsible sector for water issues, whereas P2 and P3 clusters thought urban dwellers are more responsible for all water issues, except earning money. The respondents were asked also about their water spending and saving attitudes along with their concern regarding water issues. Two factors regarding water attitude and water issue concern were derived from factor analysis using the water attitude questions. Five clusters showed variations in water attitudes and concerns among them. Some clusters’ perceptions about sectoral water issues were found to be influenced by their positive attitudes and concerns. Residential peoples’ perception regarding sectoral water use might be useful for policy makers to identify the target groups (urban or/and rural water users) for management intervention