Understanding the attitudes and beliefs of both agricultural and non-agricultural residents of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed towards water quality is critical for designing successful programs to improve it.
Authors: Jessica D. Ulrich-Schad, Anil Kumar Chaudhary, and Edem Avemegah
What is the issue?
Water quality has been a key issue in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed (CBW) since the 1970s. Agriculture, a significant land use and economic driver in the region, is considered to be one of the significant contributors to water quality issues through nonpoint source pollution from nutrient and sediment runoff. However, non-agricultural residents also play a crucial role in influencing water quality. Population growth has led to urbanization and an increase in impervious surfaces such as roads, parking lots, and buildings that increase runoff. While many successful efforts to address water quality in the CBW are underway, blame-shifting and inaction remain barriers to transformational change in the region. Understanding the attitudes and beliefs of both agricultural and non-agricultural residents towards water quality is critical in designing successful programs to help improve water quality. This study provides insights into areas of convergence and disagreement on water quality issues, causes, and interventions that can help stakeholders understand the broader landscape of perceptions, which can inform initiatives to mitigate nutrient pollution from multiple sources in the CBW.
What did we find?
We asked respondents about their concerns about water quality locally and in the CBW and how they perceive water quality at the same scales. Farmers expressed greater concern about poor water quality in local streams and the CBW than nonfarming residents (see Figure 1). However, farmers were more likely than non-farming residents to see the water quality as good at both scales.
Respondents were asked what activities they perceive contribute to water quality problems in their local streams and waterways as well as the CBW. Farmers saw agricultural activities as contributing less to water quality issues in their local streams and waterways than non-farmers. Non-agricultural residents view industrial pollution and agricultural activities as the two primary sources of water quality issues in the CBW. On the other hand, farmers view urban and suburban stormwater runoff and sewage treatment as the major contributors to water quality issues in the CBW while seeing their contribution as relatively minor. Only 11% of agricultural residents indicated water quality problems came from farming, compared to 45% of non-agricultural residents.
We also asked about support or opposition to a variety of possible strategies to control urban and farm runoff (see Figures 2 & 3). To address both urban lawn and farm nutrient runoff, utility and tax credits were highly supported by both farmers and non-farming residents, while both groups were least supportive of laws and litigation that would require behavior change.
What did we do?
Data for this study are from two surveys of residents in the southern part of the CBW (Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia), one agricultural and the other non-agricultural. 955 nonfarming resident respondents were part of an online panel in 2021, while a mail/online survey of 365 agricultural producers was conducted in 2022. Both surveys asked about awareness, concern, and views on water quality issues in local streams and waterways and the CBW in general. Questions also investigated perceptions of the causes of water quality issues, how to address water quality issues, and the future of agriculture in the region.
Publications completed for this work
Avemegah, E. (2024). Agriculture in the urbanizing Chesapeake Bay watershed: Views on water quality, agricultural-related conflicts, and the adoption of nutrient management plans (Master’s thesis, Utah State University). All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present, 354. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd2023/354
Avemegah, E., & Ulrich-Schad, J. D. (2023a). Chesapeake Bay watershed residents’ and farmers’ concerns and perceptions of water quality (Paper 1). Publications. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/canri_publications/1
Avemegah, E., & Ulrich-Schad, J. D. (2023b). Chesapeake Bay watershed residents’ and farmers’ views on water quality (Paper 2). Publications. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/canri_publications/2
Avemegah, E., & Ulrich-Schad, J. D. (2023c). Chesapeake Bay watershed residents’ and farmers’ views on urban and suburban growth (Paper 3). Publications. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/canri_publications/3
