This is just one post in the General Water Issues Category

Polls reveal how California’s feel about the water crisis

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on September 29, 2007 at 10:42 am

From Water Technology Online:

Two new polls, one statewide and one in the San Diego area, have now tallied residents’ opinions about California’s water crisis and what to do about it, and the results should give the state’s political and water agency leaders plenty of food for thought.

In one poll, conducted by Competitive Edge Research, San Diegans were asked about the potential of a water shortage and what conservation efforts they’ve taken. They also were quizzed on whether using treated recycled water was a good option for dealing with shortages, according to a September 27 KPBS report. Water recycling was respondents’ least favorite option, when given a choice of using desalination, mandatory rationing or water recycling to deal with shortages. John Nienstedt of Competitive Edge Research told KPBS that a significant number of respondents, after receiving more information about water recycling, were willing to change their minds.

The “toilet to tap” issue is hot right now in San Diego; the city’s mayor is against it while the city’s attorney is for it.

Meanwhile, a statewide poll that looked at attitudes toward lawn and garden watering found that more than half of the residents polled had no idea how much water they were using, reported The Press Enterprise on September 26.

To read the full text of this article from Water Technology Online, click here.

San Diego’s mayor asked again for more conservation from San Diego residents on Friday. This from the San Diego Union-Tribune:

… do the calls for voluntary conservation work? A new poll suggests the message is sinking in, though not as quickly as officials might have hoped.

Fifty-two percent of those surveyed said they had heard nothing or next to nothing about the San Diego County Water Authority’s “20-gallon Challenge.” The voluntary program asks each person to reduce daily water use by 20 gallons. Its goal is to curb the region’s water use by about 10 percent.

On the other hand, about two-thirds of respondents said the water situation was very or extremely serious. Pollsters said the region appears primed for “bold” measures, such as desalination and mandatory water conservation.

To read the full text of this article from the San Diego Union-Tribune, click here.

Aqua Blog Maven took a poll of 19 adults, and here are my results:

All respondents felt there was reason for concern over water supply issues, divided rather evenly between ‘somewhat concerned’ and ‘very concerned’. All respondents were aware that Southern California is dependent upon imported water, with only two choosing a percentage too low. The twelve respondents who were aware of the Delta also realized its importance to Southern California; the remaining seven were not familiar with it. Although all but one respondent followed news from traditional media sources, only three out of the 19 polled had heard of the recent Judge Wanger court ruling that could potentially reduce southern California’s water supply by as much as one-third. Every respondent was attempting to conserve water in some way.

Of course, it certainly was not scientific, and the results might have been skewed somewhat. One of the respondents works for Department of Water & Power, and another is a utilities engineer, accounting for two out of the three people who had heard of the Wanger court ruling.

September 29, 2007 · Filed Under Conservation, General Water Issues