Are views of water bodies associated with higher water consumption? An empirical analysis from New Zealand

Abstract

Freshwater scarcity is worsening as we quickly approach the freshwater planetary boundary. There has been extensive research and policy development in the space of water scarcity, pollution and accessibility, centered around the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A large body of literature examines household and climate characteristics predictive of water consumption by households. However, there does not appear to be any research on the role of views of and proximity to water bodies in household water consumption. In this paper, we develop a simple model of water consumption which depends on the perceptions of water scarcity and the perceptions of whether water scarcity is an issue. Using geographic information systems (GIS) viewshed analysis, we model whether properties in Tauranga, New Zealand, have views of lakes and the coast. We then use these variables in an SA1 unit fixed effects model of water consumption. We find that views of lakes are associated with higher water consumption and views of the coast are associated with lower water consumption. We suggest that these associations are driven by psychological biases which alter the perceptions of water scarcity and concern for water scarcity. We deploy a range of robustness checks and argue that our results may be causal, though further research is required to confirm this.