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Improving Rural Drinking Water Quality Testing Programs in the United States: Evidence from a Randomized Trial in Iowa
Presented by:
Gabe Lade
Department of Economics
Macalester College
Friday, September 22, 2023
12:00 pm-1:15 pm
Taylor-Hibbard Seminar Room (Rm103)
Approximately 23 million households in the US rely on private wells for drinking water. Despite contamination concerns, testing is infrequent. This study seeks to understand household testing behavior, the effectiveness of a simple intervention to increase testing, and the willingness to pay for in-home water quality test strips. First, the paper summarizes drinking water behaviors and perceptions from a large-scale survey of households that rely on private wells in Iowa. Residents’ water sources in this area are particularly vulnerable to nitrate pollution from agriculture. Next, we utilize a randomized control trial to study how nitrate test strips and information about a free, comprehensive water quality testing program influence testing and drinking water behavior. The intervention significantly increases testing, including high-quality follow-up testing. We find limited changes in averting behaviors or perceptions due to the intervention. Using a real payment experiment, households reveal a willingness to pay for nitrate test kits that exceed costs.