Differences in Opinions about Surface Water Quality Issues in the Southern United States: Implications for Watershed Planning Process

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In response to state‐level needs assessments, extension services and land‐grant institutions (LGIs) have directed human and financial resources to meet identified public information needs regarding water resource status and management. This study evaluates the success of these efforts by examining the results of a nationwide survey of public attitudes and perceptions regarding water resources, and focusing on participants’ responses to questions related to preferred water information sources, learning opportunities, and topics. Fifteen percent of the adult population in the Southern, Mid‐Atlantic, and Northeast regions received water resource information from cooperative extension services, or in the 16 states sampled, extension reached about 15.3 million adults with water resource information. Older respondents and those living in smaller cities were more likely to indicate receiving water resource information from extension. Survey participants were asked to indicate water resource topics about which they would like to receive further information. Respondents were most interested in protecting public drinking water supplies, watershed management, nutrient and pesticide management, and fish and wildlife needs. Similarly, participants were asked to indicate their three (of possible 12) preferred modes for receiving water resource information. Overall, most respondents preferred receiving information by reading printed fact sheets, watching television coverage, reading newspaper articles, and visiting Internet websites. However, responses varied widely according to respondent's age and the size of the community, indicating that water resource education delivery methods should be selected based on specific target audiences.

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

Audience Preferences for Water Resource Information from Extension and Other Sources

Boellstorff

Borisova

Smolen

et al. 2013

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“…This rich data set can be used by extension educators to develop programs for the public. Information from this data set has also been used to develop papers on various water quality and water quantity topics in the last 10 years (Clay et al, 2007; Wawrzynek et al, 2007; Mahler et al, 2008, 2010; Borisova et al, 2012, 2013; Adams et al, 2013; Boellstorff et al, 2013; Brauer et al, 2012; Gholson et al, 2018). A portion of this data set examines the media sources that the public use to obtain information on water resources.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Preferred Water Resource Information Sources and Learning Opportunities in the Pacific Northwest

Mahler

2018

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Core Ideas This study evaluated how public information sources for water resource information have changed between 2002 and 2017. Three identical survey questions assessed public information sources in 2002, 2007, 2012, and 2017. The Internet was the information source with the greatest increase in public use over this 15‐year period, increasing from 14.8% in 2002 to 63.0% in 2017. Both formal education level and age of respondents affected their preferred information source choice. The American public is overwhelmed by the amount of water resource information that they are exposed to every day. The purpose of this 15‐year study was to determine the information sources that are most widely used by the public and relate this information to water educators. A mail‐based survey process assessed: (1) public‐preferred water information sources, (2) public‐preferred learning opportunities, and (3) events that cause people to change their minds about a water issue. The same survey process was conducted in 2002, 2007, 2012, and 2017 in the four Pacific Northwest states. All four surveys received a response exceeding 50%, resulting in a sampling error of less than 5%. In 2002 newspapers, television, and environmental agencies were the major water information sources used by the public. Only 14.8% of survey respondents considered the Internet a major water information source in 2002; however, by 2017 over 60% of adults were using the Internet for water information. The demographic factors of age and education level affected the usage of information sources. Visiting a website was not considered an important learning opportunity in 2002 (11.5%); however, by 2017 over 80% of the public considered visiting a website as their best learning opportunity for water information. Visiting websites also eclipsed reading printed fact sheets as the most popular learning opportunity by 2017. This study is important because it shows educators the best way to reach the public in the Pacific Northwest with water resource information.

“…For the second theme (i.e., identification of the issues of public concern), Borisova et al (2013) focus on issues related to surface water quality issues and examine public opinions and concerns about water availability. This article shows that many needs assessment survey respondents perceive surface water to be of good or excellent quality while suspecting or knowing that nutrients are negatively affecting their surface or groundwater quality.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The articles in this series also demonstrate the importance of water resource extension programs to be tailored to the specific audiences. Specifically, urban or rural characteristics of the community of residence (along with demographics) are shown to significantly correlate with the preferences for information delivery modes (Boellstorff et al, 2013), water resource topics of interest (Boellstorff et al, 2013), and the level of concerns about water quality (Borisova et al, 2013) and availability (Adams et al, 2013).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The National Water Survey Needs Assessment Program

Mahler

Smolen

Borisova

et al. 2013

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LGIs) developing regional and multistate, integrated research and extension projects to address the water resource educational needs of their clientele on a larger scale than state-by-state.The development of large-scale AREERA-funded programs called for a new paradigm for identifying urgent water resource issues and designing and managing multi-state water resource programs. Traditionally, many scientists, policy makers, and educators at LGIs have used a standard approach of identifying critical water resource issues through their day-to-day contact with state agencies and clientele. However, some programs developed in this way have been found not to be effective, producing little to show in the way of behavioral change (Mahler et al., 2005). Largescale AREERA-funded programs required new methods for examining similarities and differences in public concerns and informational needs among the states and regions.Consequently, early in the national AREERA-funded water program (section 406), state extension water program coordinators recognized the need to develop a needs assessment tool to identify the public's understanding, attitudes, and behaviors regarding various water resource issues on a state-by-state and regional basis. The needs assessment project originally focused on the states in the Pacific Northwest Region, then extended it, region by region, to states across the United States.The objectives of this national needs assessment survey project were (1) to develop a survey tool that could be used to collect baseline information about public attitudes, aptitudes, and actions taken toward water resource issues on a state-by-state or regional basis; (2) to use the survey to collect the baseline information andThe National Water Survey Needs Assessment Program Robert L. Mahler,* Michael D. Smolen, Tatiana Borisova, Diane E. Boellstorff, Damian C. Adams, and Nicola W. Sochacka ABSTRACT Water quality and availability are identified as priority areas for outreach and educational programs in many U.S. regions. This project offers a needs assessment tool (survey) that could be used on a state-by-state, regional, or national basis to analyze public attitudes, opinions, and behaviors as related to water resource issues. The information collected through the needs assessment can be used to identify objectives, strategies, and delivery modes for extension programs, and to evaluate the programs. The goal was to implement the needs assessment survey at 5-year intervals to: (1) measure changes in public priorities; (2) evaluate the effectiveness of educational programs; and (3) reprioritize, as necessary, the educational goals. A needs assessment survey template was developed and piloted in the Pacific Northwest. During 2001-2010, surveys were conducted in 41 states and six Pacific Island entities. Almost 11,000 surveys were returned completed for a response rate of 44.5%. Five-year follow-up surveys have been completed in five states to date. The results of these surveys have been used to prioritize extension water prog...