Poor drinking water and closed beaches affect almost half of Florida citizens, according to a recent study.
Research by the PIE Center examined public opinions of water issues and identified Floridians’ experiences with poor water quality.
The 39.7 percent of survey respondents that experienced negative water issues is a surprisingly large amount, according to Alexa Lamm, PIE Center researcher and assistant professor of public opinion analysis in the UF/IFAS Department of Agricultural Education and Communication. She and PIE Center Director Tracy Irani developed the survey that was distributed statewide to members of the general public.
Floridians were asked to report how poor water quality impacted their lives and activities, such as prohibitions on eating fish or closed bodies of water.
With 22.0 percent of participants, poor drinking water in the home was reported more frequently than any other issue. Closed beaches due to red tide or poor water quality came in second at 20.1 percent.
People living in rural areas experienced the impacts of poor water quality more often than those living in metropolitan areas, with 49.2 percent of rural respondents reporting some type of poor water quality; 38.8 percent of those living in cities cited problems.
Of the rural population, 23.4 percent reported poor quality of drinking water at home, 16.1 percent reported prohibitions on eating fish they have caught and 17.0 percent reported closed springs, rivers or lakes due to low water levels or algae blooms. The rural population had a lower frequency, 18.5 percent, of closed beaches due to red tide or poor water quality than the rest of the participants in the survey.
The negative experiences with poor water quality could drive people’s perceptions of environmental issues. The more personal the experience, the more important an issue is to a participant, Lamm said.
“It brings a personal awareness because they have come face to face with being limited on their own recreational activities or drinking water from their tap, so all of a sudden water quality is a creeping issue in their mind,” Lamm said. “People do not like being limited on what they can do based on water quality.”
For participants living near the coast, 12.4 percent were concerned with the closing of springs, rivers or lakes due to low water levels and 4.9 percent were concerned with algae blooms, while 20.0 percent were concerned with the closing of beaches due to red tide or poor water quality.
This research was designed to provide an overall understanding of what users across Florida think about water issues and their level of engagement in water conservation practices.
The research is the first part of a quarterly public opinion trend panel the PIE Center will conduct to measure the public opinions over time on issues like water and immigration.
