Living in a state surrounded by water, Floridians prioritize water issues over public education and taxes.
State residents, who rated the issue behind only health care and the economy on a list of ten major topics, are very likely to support local water restrictions and vote for both water conservation programs and candidates who support them.
But while the public is thirsty for knowledge, Floridians sometimes leave conservationists high and dry. From several years of research, assistant professor Alexa Lamm has found that the public is less likely to save water if conservation impacts their wallet or personal time.
72 percent of Floridians are willing to pay for slightly higher water bills to protect the future water supply, but only 19 percent are willing to spend a significantly higher rate.
Similarly, about two-thirds of residents would conserve water even if their lawns would be less green, but that number drops to 42 percent if it means their lawn might die and would need to be replaced.
Lamm presents this information at numerous county water schools, webinars and other regional workshops. In addition to serving on the UF/IFAS Extension Water Initiative Leadership Team, she is helping develop a Watershed Stewards Academy.
“Dr. Lamm brought me back down to the bottom line of how best to share all the information with my colleagues on the Crystal River Waterfront Advisory Board, as well as ways to better educate our citizens.” — Joan Luebbe, Citrus County Water School attendee
Even though Floridians would like to conserve water, existing policies and regulations do not always make that possible. For example, most people are willing to use reclaimed water for irrigation, but the alternative water resource is not readily available statewide. Homeowners associations can have tremendous influence on how green a lawn should be and how frequently the property is watered.
Public perceptions identified by the PIE Center are impacting policy development at the local, regional and state levels. The PIE Center has found that understanding Floridians’ opinions, beliefs and even misconceptions enable decision makers to create policies and practices that lead to the best outcomes.
