Survey: Most see water conservation as critically important
| Wednesday, Jun 02 2010 05:05 PM
Last Updated Wednesday, Jun 02 2010 05:05 PM
Despite higher amounts of rain this year, both locally and statewide most residents believe water conservation remains critically important and would be willing to change their behavior to reduce water use.
That's according to a survey the Association of California Water Agencies released Wednesday. The group surveyed 1,200 Californians.
"We are pleased to learn that a majority of Californians recognize the state's ongoing water supply problems and are willing to do their part," said the association's executive director, Timothy Quinn. "People also understand that behavior around water use needs to change, rain or shine.
"While we work on other long-term fixes to the state's water system, conservation is an easy short-term approach to stretch our water supply."
Statewide, 26 percent said California's water shortage is a "crisis," and 55 percent said it is a "significant problem but not a crisis."
That's fairly close to the responses given when the same question was posed last year, which was much drier.
Only 13 percent of this year's respondents called the water shortage a "minor problem" and 4 percent said it's "not really a problem at all."
Although Southern Californians are more likely than their upstate counterparts to see the state's water supply as a "significant problem," more than three-quarters of residents in every region of the state are apprehensive.
The perception that the water issue is significant is shared by 83 percent of Kern County residents, compared with 87 percent of those in the most concerned San Diego area and 78 percent of those in the least worried San Francisco Bay area.
"The areas that seem to express the most concern are the ones that are the most efficient," said Mark Cowin, director of the California Department of Water Resources. "That seems to go hand in hand."
Of Kern County households, 85 percent said they would be willing to make "significant changes" to their behavior at home in order to reduce water use by at least 20 percent.
Kern County uses 285 per capita gallons per day in residential, commercial and industrial uses, but not agriculture, compared with 192 gallons statewide.
In response to the ongoing legal battle over water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has asked state agencies to create a plan to reduce urban water use by 20 percent by the year 2020.
The Department of Water Resources and the Association of California Water Agencies are jointly sponsoring a "Save Our Water" public education campaign.
The campaign will highlight real people who have purchased water-efficient appliances, planted water-efficient landscaping and otherwise altered their homes and routines to conserve.
For tips on steps you can take, go to www.saveourh2o.org.
