Public perceptions of water quality in a Midwestern state

A qualitative study with adults from a Midwestern state was conducted to provide foundational information for a broader statewide study of public perceptions of nonpoint source water pollution. Four, 90-minute focus groups were conducted in locations that provided both geographic and rural/urban diversity among participants. A semi-structured moderator guide with probes was used to explore participants’ understanding of water quality and causes of water pollution, environmental literacy and general views on the environment, and views about and awareness of strategies for improving water quality. An interactive qualitative approach was used to code and categorize the themes and key issues that emerged from the focus groups. Foremost associations to the word “water” focused on drinking water, as opposed to waterways for fishing and swimming. “Interactions” with water centered on cleaning, bathing and laundry versus recreation. Few participants could define the term “watershed," although most reported that they had heard the term.  Only one or two thought about themselves as living in a specific watershed. Participants had limited awareness of local creeks versus rivers and awareness tended to link to occupation (e.g., farming) or history of local flooding. Connectedness of waterways was a concept that many participants seemed to understand at a macro-level, but few could describe how waterways were connected in their area. All participants held a personal value surrounding the importance of water, and most felt a shared responsibility for ensuring good water quality. For both rural and urban counties, agriculture was the main focus of participants’ views about the main cause of poor water quality. However, beyond describing agricultural practices, few participants had suggestions about how people negatively impact water quality or solutions to improve it. Qualitative findings provide formative information for the development of a quantitative questionnaire used to assess statewide perceptions of water quality issues.