Working in eight counties across the state, AW4A brings together residents, local officials, and ASU scientists to assess water needs, monitor household water quality, and then design and implement fit-for-purpose solutions to improve household water security. A core part of this community-centered approach has been interviewing residents in depth to understand the water issues they face, at the same time sampling their water and putting it through comprehensive analysis. Combining in-depth social science analysis with this water quality data enabled AW4A to understand what is driving tap water avoidance, allowing households to make informed decisions about their water choices. One key element of this has been to run community workshops to present and explain water quality results and share common experiences across households facing the same issues.

Research at AW4A has highlighted why some households move away from using tap water, even when it meets safety standards. People may avoid their piped water because of unpleasant taste or odor, concerns about contaminants, mistrust of municipal systems, or a preference for bottled water. These decisions can be influenced by personal experience, cultural factors, and broader social inequalities. As more families turn to alternatives such as hauled water, bottled water, or private wells—especially amid environmental and political uncertainty—there is a growing risk of “unmanaged retreat” from public water systems. This can leave households more vulnerable and strain community resources.

Since the inception of AWII, AW4A has had a key partnership with the Household Water Insecurity Experience community of practice (HWISE-CP).  HWISE-CP recently developed world-leading tools for measuring water insecurity in lower and middle-income countries, now used by many monitoring institutions, including WHO. However, these tools are not designed for higher-income settings with generally safe and accessible water services, but where there are nonetheless some water-insecure households. The HWISE leadership and key analysts joined AWII in October for a workshop at ASU to begin the final analysis to develop the tool. Using data collected with support from AWII with Arizona’s most water vulnerable populations over the last 2 years to develop the scale, the resulting tool is now ready for scientific review and publication.  Using the Arizona dataset, the collaborative workshop also finalized and has now submitted for scientific peer review an innovative “Water Trust Scale” that can better reveal people’s perceptions of their water providers, a known factor in decisions around how people drink and otherwise use their household water.