Water Quality Program - Water Issues Survey

To assess public awareness, aptitudes, attitudes, and actions toward water quality, a 37-question survey was adapted by the USDA-CSREES Southwest States and Pacific Islands Regional Water Quality Program Team from a similar survey used in the Pacific Northwest. Results from the survey are being used to help water quality educators across the region understand public perceptions of water quality issues. Specific topics identified as requiring more education and/or outreach will help guide future programming efforts.

The survey was mailed to 2000 randomly selected California residents and responses gathered from December 2003 to July 2004. The survey was completed by 988 residents for a response rate of 49%. The collected data were analyzed using the SAS procedure at the University of Idaho, and have a sampling error of +/- 5 percent. Survey questions were divided into six sections: 1) How do you feel about the environment? 2) Your Environmental Perspective, 3) Water Issues, 4) Water Quality Education, 5) Governance, and 6) Demographics.

Some publications generated from this survey include:

• Water Issues in the Southwest (pdf, 5 pp) A summary of results in the Southwest states of California, Arizona, and Nevada.
• Water Issues in Hawaii (pdf, 5 pp) A summary of results from Hawaii.
• Water Issues in the Pacific Islands (pdf, 6 pp) A summary of results from the Pacific Islands.
• Public Perceptions of Groundwater Issues in California (pdf) A poster presented at the 25th Biennial Groundwater Conference, October 25-26, 2005.