High impact water conservation: factors explaining residents’ intent to reduce irrigated area in the yard

ABSTRACT As water scarcity worsens, social scientists seek strategies that facilitate water conservation behaviours. This study analyses the factors driving engagement in a high-impact behaviour in residential landscapes, eliminating irrigated areas in one’s yard, to guide future social marketing efforts to reduce water usage. Feelings of internal commitment (i.e., personal norms) had the strongest relationship with this behaviour followed by social pressure (i.e., subjective norms), demonstrating the influence perceived personal and societal obligations have on water conservation. Practitioners, policymakers and scientists working on urban water issues should focus on these normative influences to ensure proliferation of the identified practice.