When asked to rank their level of concern for 10 issues facing Florida, resident were most concerned about water according to a recent survey conducted by the UF/IFAS Center for Public Issues Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources (PIE Center).
Eighty-three percent of respondents said they consider water to be a highly or extremely important issue.
“It is clear that Floridians recognize water as our biggest issue here in Florida,” said PIE Center director and agricultural education and communication assistant professor Alexa Lamm. “While there is clear concern about maintaining a plentiful and clean water supply, many are unfamiliar about policy impacting water.”
Of the 524 Florida residents surveyed, less than half said they were extremely or moderately familiar with the Clean Water Act.
Despite being unfamiliar with water policy, 74 percent of Floridians indicated they are likely or very likely to vote for a candidate who supports water conservation and 79 percent of Floridians are likely or very likely to vote to support water conservation programs.
When preparing to vote, 55 percent of people said they seek factual information about water from multiple sources. The sources used most frequently include the Environmental Protection Agency, mayor or city council, department of health, local county commissioners, and local universities.
Aside from voting, Floridians also get information about water from a variety of sources. Sixty-two percent of respondents get information about water via the Internet. This is followed by newspapers at 48 percent, social media at 43 percent, and both television and family or friends at 38 percent.
“There are so many great sources for water information in Florida including local Florida Cooperative Extension offices, the University of Florida, the five water management districts and the FDACS Office of Agricultural Water Policy,” Lamm said. “We encourage Floridians to use them all and pay attention to the water conversation in the state.”
Thirty-nine percent of Floridians indicated they had seen news coverage related to water in the last month. Forty-eight percent of the respondents, however, said they had not.
Even though most Floridians have not seen news coverage related to water, the survey showed that 76 percent of Floridians would be likely to pay attention to a news story reporting on issues related to water.
Media contact: Ashley McLeod, ashleynmcleod@ufl.edu or 352-273-0793
Alexa Lamm, alamm@ufl.edu or 352-392-6545
