Floridians ranked the importance of plentiful freshwater for rivers, lakes and streams lower than for agriculture, recreation and golf courses, according to a recent PIE Center survey conducted in December 2012.
Water is a hot-button topic in the state of Florida, with both water quality and quantity issues becoming priorities for the state legislature, as well as within UF/IFAS.
The survey asked participants a variety of questions on topics ranging from water usage to water conservation and quality. Part of the survey included questions about how important participants rank having plentiful water for a variety of activities such as recreation, landscaping and agriculture.
While 86.1 percent of participants reported that plentiful water for recreation and about 84.8 percent reported that plentiful water for golf courses was highly or extremely important, only 67.1 percent reported that water for aquifers, springs, rivers and lakes was highly or extremely important. Further, 9.3 percent reported this as only slightly important or not important at all.
“That to me was surprising because when we think of our springs and lakes and the general public, they’re using them for recreational purposes,” said Alexa Lamm, PIE Center researcher and assistant professor of public opinion analysis in the UF/IFAS Department of Agricultural Education and Communication.
Overall, plentiful water in rivers, lakes and springs ranked lower in importance than plentiful water for agriculture, recreation, golf courses, as well as industry and power generation.
PIE Center researchers said that Florida’s plentiful coastline and popularity of beach-related activities might affect residents’ perceptions.
“Canoeing and kayaking was our lowest related activity,” Lamm said. “A lot of recreation in this state is associated with the oceans and beaches here in Florida and not necessarily associated with our springs, rivers and lakes.”
When asked about their preferred outdoor activities, 77.0 percent of participants said they enjoy spending time at the beach and 73.0 percent enjoy swimming, compared to only about 14 percent that enjoyed snorkeling or scuba diving.
“Broadly speaking, it’s all about the coastline when it comes to water recreation in the state, even though there may be people who may be very actively engaged inland,” said Tracy Irani, PIE Center director and AEC department professor.
The PIE Center hopes to continue these public opinion panels annually to measure the public’s opinion on water and how it is changing over time. The water survey is part of a quarterly series of research that will measure the public opinion on topics such as immigration and endangered species.
“Everything about water is a priority,” Irani said. “So we want to try and address all of these issues.”
