2010 Urban and Agricultural Awareness, Attitudes and Behavior Survey
WREC’s ability to conduct effective education and outreach depends upon: 1) Understanding how people feel about local water quality resources; 2) How much they know about water quality concerns; 3) What practices they adopt on the land they manage; and 4) What factors affect their land management decisions. In order to assess differences between agricultural and urban populations, two distinct surveys were developed as part of the Greater Lafayette Watershed Management Planning project. For the rural survey, 715 producers were selected receive the survey with 51% of those surveyed responding. For the urban survey, 1097 residents were selected to receive the survey with 38% of those surveyed responding.
Survey Results
Survey results indicate that measures of attitudes toward water quality concerns between rural and urban populations are similar. Most Tippecanoe County residents believe that good water quality is important for the communities in which they live for both economic and quality-of-life reasons. Most individuals feel a degree of personal responsibility for the actions they take that affect local water resources; however, they are likely unwilling to pay for improvements in the water resource. It is clear that individuals frequently feel that they must compromise between desired environmental outcomes and their financial concerns.