Understanding Landowner and Municipal Official Perceptions of Water Quality
1. HDRU OUTREACH SERIES 11-1
Understanding Landowner and Municipal Official
Perceptions of Water Quality in a Local Watershed
Shorna Broussard Allred, Margaret Kurth, Carolyn Klocker, & Allison Chatrychan
What is Water Quality? water quality issues. The collective decisions of
Water quality is a term that describes the physical, landowners can have enormous ramifications for
chemical, and biological properties of water, usually water quality.
with respect to its use for a particular purpose. Water Understanding landowner perceptions helps local
that may be safe enough to wash your car may not be officials:
clean enough to drink or may be harmful to aquatic
animals and plants. Water quality standards help Maintain and build the public’s trust that local
define the levels at which certain substances can be government will address residents’ concerns and
found in our water and still be safe for different uses. show that local officials are responsive to those
Human dimensions research can help us understand concerns;
resident and municipal official perceptions of water Create communication messages that resonate
quality. with the public and to which they will respond;
What Threatens Water Quality? Understand residents’ attitudes about who is
While the Clean Water Act of 1972 alleviated much responsible for protecting water quality;
of the water quality degradation by pollution from Understand landowner willingness to maintain or
identifiable sources (point sources), addressing change their behavior to improve water quality;
pollution from more diffuse, nonpoint sources
Identify problems that arise in the watershed
remains a challenge. Nonpoint source pollution does
which residents are often the first to experience;
not enter streams and lakes via a pipe discharge but and
is carried to water bodies by rain or snow that
runs off and through the surrounding landscape. Identify misconceptions that residents may hold
The close connection between water bodies and about what problems exist, especially those that
their surrounding landscape makes water quality are invisible to untrained observers.
susceptible to negative effects of land-use change. When municipal officials understand their own
Traditional development typically decreases the perspectives as well as those of landowners, they can
natural water filtration and storage mechanisms that align priorities and create responsive policies.
exist in a watershed (wetlands, open space,
Research Methods
streamside vegetation, etc.). The Wappinger Creek
In the Spring and Summer of 2009, researchers at
Watershed can serve as a case study on the threat
Cornell Cooperative Extension and the Human
that development poses to water quality in a major
Dimensions Research Unit sent a questionnaire to
tributary of the lower Hudson River.
1,422 landowners (response rate = 26%) and 326
Why is it Important to Understand Perceptions? municipal officials (response rate = 32%) in the 13
Improvements in water quality cannot be made municipalities of the Wappinger Creek Watershed in
through regulation alone but also require the Dutchess County, New York to collect data to inform
involvement of local communities. While municipal outreach and education efforts in the watershed. This
officials can and should use water quality data to factsheet reports on the water quality perceptions
guide their land-use decisions, it is also critical that (i.e. attitudes, views, awareness, and concerns) of
they recognize the distinct human dimension of landowners and municipal officials, how closely
2. their perceptions compare to scientifically identified Municipal officials perceive many of the problems
problems in the watershed, and the factors that in the watershed as more severe than landowners do
influence perceptions. and the difference in response is statistically
significant for more than half of the water quality
Perceptions of Water Quality
problems. Additionally, the frequency of “don’t
Figure 1 shows the average responses of landowners
know” responses by landowners was more than 50%
and municipal officials regarding the extent to which
for nearly half of the watershed problems including
they believe each is a problem in their watershed.
pesticides, harmful bacteria, above average water
Figure 1: “In your opinion, how much of a temperature, nitrogen, and phosphorus in water
problem is each in the Wappinger Creek bodies as well as seepage from septic tanks/sewer
Watershed”? lines and well water contamination. The higher
Municipal Officials Landowners severity ratings given to watershed problems by
Above average water municipal officials, along with their greater degree of
temperature certainty may be due to their responsibility to
manage watershed quality at the local level.
Harmful bacteria in
However, their greater certainty and concern does
water bodies
not necessarily mean they are more aware. Bringing
Well water municipal officials’ desire to address watershed
contamination problems in line with landowners’ priorities will
Loss of streamside need to be carried out through communication about
vegetation the issues.
Turbidity or muddy * Concerns about Watershed Problems
appearance In addition to rating the severity of watershed
Pesticides in water
problems, survey respondents were asked to choose
bodies those problems that are of top concern to them
(Table 1).
Seepage from septic
tanks/sewer lines Table 1: Top Concerns of Watershed Stakeholders
Garbage/litter in Municipal Officials Landowners
water bodies
1st Sediment deposition Garbage in and around
*
Loss of aquatic habitat (40%) water bodies (42%)
*
2nd Road salt runoff (36%) Seepage from septic
Flood damage tanks (31%)
Phosphorus in w ater 3rd Garbage in and around Pesticides in water
bodies water bodies (24%) (29%)
Nitrogen in water * 4th Harmful bacteria in Loss of habitat for
bodies water (24%) trout/aquatic species &
* Harmful bacteria in
Road salt in runoff water (25%)
Eroding and unstable * 5th Eroding and unstable Well water
stream banks banks (26%) contamination (23%)
Invasive plants in *
water/along banks Watershed Condition
*
While stakeholder perceptions should guide local
Sediment deposition policies and management actions, these actions
must also be grounded in the watershed conditions.
1 2 3 4 Cornell Cooperative Extension Dutchess County
Average Perception of
held a meeting in May 2010 during which
Problem Severity
Scale: 1=not a problem, 2=slight problem, 3=moderate problem, 4=severe problem
stakeholders of the Wappinger Creek Watershed
*statistically significant difference at the p<.05 level
3. reinforced that comparing perceptions with Loss of aquatic habitat: Long and short term trends
scientifically identified water quality problems is a of declining biologic communities have been
priority for them. Although data does not exist for all observed, probably as a result of land development
the problems asked about in the survey, the available pressures on aquatic habitats (Stainbrook, 2006).
data can provide a basis for comparison and
Invasive Plants: There is excessive invasive weed
prioritization. Table 2 identifies the most critical
growth, especially in the Southern end of the
causes and effects of pollution in the watershed as
watershed where Water Chestnut carpets water
outlined in the Natural Resource Management Plan
bodies.
for the Wappinger Creek. The management plan
aims to guide municipalities in their decision-making Comparing Local Perceptions with Science
to improve the conditions of the watershed. While municipal officials recognized that
Table 2: Causes and Effects of Pollution in the eroding and unstable stream banks are a problem,
Wappinger Creek Watershed as Identified by the they did not rate the probable cause of the
Natural Resource Management Plan, 2000. problem, loss of streamside vegetation, as being
equally severe.
Causes:
Nonpoint source pollution from:
Both landowners and municipal officials rated
-Septic seepage of nutrients and bacteria the severity of nitrogen and phosphorous equally,
-Overland runoff carrying pollutants while the DEC identifies excess phosphorous as
Loss of vegetated buffers along streams and lakes a more critical problem. This is likely because
Growth pressure nitrogen and phosphorus have a similar effect on
the watershed and education efforts often do not
Effects:
differentiate between the two.
Water that does not meet water quality standards
for its designated uses Road salt in runoff is rated as the second most
-Contaminated drinking water wells severe problem on average by landowners and
-Lakes and streams filled in with sediment the fourth most severe by municipal officials.
-Eutrophication of lakes and ponds Local data is largely unpublished but information
-Excessive aquatic weed growth about degradation of local water bodies by salt is
spreading through outreach and education
Other Water Quality Problems efforts.
Degradation of downstream lake: Wappinger Lake,
While there is little published data on the effects
located just north of the outlet of the creek into the
of pesticides on water bodies in the Wappinger
Hudson River, acts as a sink for substances that
Creek Watershed, landowners and municipal
travel downstream and is an indicator of water
officials rated the problem of pesticides in water
quality issues for the watershed. The primary
bodies as moderate in severity, possibly because
nonpoint source pollutants in the watershed,
of the presence of agricultural areas in the upper
sediment and phosphorous, have accumulated in
part of the watershed.
the Lake and degraded its value as a drinking
water source and recreational resource1. Municipal officials rated sediment deposition as
the most severe problem and are most concerned
Harmful bacteria: Bacteria is carried to water bodies
with this problem. This is in line with the
from source on the landscape such as faulty septic
scientific conclusion that sediment is a primary
systems and agricultural operations. Muddy
nonpoint source pollutant in the watershed.
appearance of water bodies may indicate that
bacteria levels are too high for recreation such as Landowners reported great concern with garbage
swimming. (Natural Resource Management Plan, and litter in and around water bodies. This
2000). indicates that the appearance of the watershed is
a priority for landowners.
Flood damage: Damage associated with flooding
has increased. Flooding is caused by the intensity Research indicates that seepage from septic
of the rainfall but also exacerbated by increasing systems is a substantial problem in the water-
impervious surfaces in the watershed which shed, but neither stakeholder group rated the
amplifies flooding impacts and damage (Strayer, problem as greater than moderate, on average.
2007). 1
The lake has been placed on the 2010 NYS Section 303(d)
List of Impaired Waters and a total maximum daily load
(TMDL) for phosphorous and sediment is being developed
4. Factors that Affect Perception Local officials and community members can work
There are many factors that can influence to:
perceptions of watershed problems. Some of these Increase and facilitate recreational use of water
factors include experience with and exposure resources by maintaining creek access points and
to the water bodies in the watershed, knowledge of organizing events which get people out on or
the water resources, and information sources.
near the water;
Understanding the factors which may account for
awareness, willingness to change behavior, and Make water quality information interesting and
misconceptions is valuable to tailoring outreach and accessible so that stakeholders have accurate and
education that will be effective and resonate with easily understandable information;
residents. Address misconceptions that exist among stake-
holders by designing audience-specific outreach
Use of the Creek, its Tributaries, and Lakes
and education campaigns;
Neither landowners nor municipal officials in
the Wappinger Creek Watershed reported very Use citizen science programs to involve stake-
frequent use of the creek, its tributaries, or lakes/ holders in determining the watershed’s condition
ponds. Respondents reported enjoying the view most so that people gain a deeper understanding of
frequently (often or very often) (68% landowners; water quality issues;
62% municipals officials), followed by hiking or
Create a working partnership between residents
walking along water bodies (landowners 34%;
and local government officials that will foster
municipal officials 34%). Activities such as fishing,
trust and a place where citizens can share first
canoeing, and swimming or wading were done less
hand experiences they have with watershed
frequently (less than 10% of each group reported
problems.
often or very often use). Increasing and facilitating
access and exposure to the Wappinger Creek and the References
natural environment for both residents and municipal Dutchess County Environmental Management Council, Dutchess County
Soil and Water Conservation District, Wappinger Creek Watershed Planning
officials may raise awareness of its condition and Committee and Dutchess County Water Quality Strategy Committee. 2000.
increase the salience of watershed issues. Natural Resource Management Plan for the Wappinger Creek Watershed.
http://www.hudsonwatershed.org/plans09/wappinger.pdf
Information and Knowledge Stainbrook, K.M., Limburg, K.E., Daniels, R.A., and R.E. Schmidt. 2006.
Approximately half of landowners (47.9%) reported Long-term changes in ecosystem health of two Hudson Valley watersheds,
that they had sought out water-related information New York, USA, 1936-2001. Hydrobiologia, 571:313-327.
while the other half (52.1%) had not. The most Strayer, D. (2007, April 22). Flooding is caused by more than just rainfall.
frequently used information sources are a mix of The Poughkeepsie Journal. Retrieved from
http://www.fishkillcreekwatershed.org/FCWC/media/PoJo_04_22_07.htm
formal and informal types. They include local
newspapers, communication with friends and family, Author Contact Information:
Cornell Cooperative Extension Dutchess County Shorna Broussard Allred, Ph.D.
(CCEDC), the DEC, and the County Health Dept. Associate Professor
Municipal officials were asked about their Department of Natural Resources
attendance at workshops on land-use planning to Human Dimensions Research Unit
protect natural resources and water quality. Seventy- Cornell University
Office: (607) 255-2149
five percent of municipal officials have attended www.human-dimensions.org
at least one workshop. Of those that reported
participating in trainings, the most frequently TO CITE THIS REPORT:
attended were the Pace Land-Use Law training Broussard Allred, S., Kurth, M., Klocker, C. and A.
(60%), Dutchess County Planning Federation Chatrychan. 2011. Understanding Landowner and
workshop (45%), and CCEDC Environment Program Municipal Official Perceptions of Water Quality in a Local
watershed and flooding workshops (39%). Watershed. Cornell University Human Dimensions Research
Unit (HDRU), HDRU Outreach Series Publication No. 11-1,
January 2011.
Aligning Perceptions with Management Priorities
Aligning the perceptions of stakeholders and the This project was funded in part by a grant from the New
research-based priorities for the watershed will help York State Environmental Protection Fund through a Hudson
create a holistic approach to watershed protection. River Estuary Program of the New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation (DEC) (contract #303671)