Public Perceptions, Preferences and Values for Water in the West A Survey of Western and Colorado Residents James Pritchett*, Alan Bright**, Andrea Shortsleeve**, Jennifer Thorvaldson*, Troy Bauder*** and Reagan Waskom**** Authors are *Associate Professor and PhD Candidate in the Department of Agriculture and Resource Economics, **Associate Professor and Graduate Research Assistant in the Department of Human Dimensions of Natural Resources, ***Extension Specialist in water quality in Soil and Crop Sciences, ****Director, Colorado Water Institute. Contact author is James Pritchett, Campus Mail 1172, B327 Clark Building, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523‐1172, [email protected], 970.491.5496. Authors greatly appreciate the support and funding of the USDA‐CSREES grant # 2007‐51130‐03874 . Comments from Chris Goemans and George Wallace are greatly appreciated. 2 Contents 1.0 Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................. 3 2.0 Overview ................................................................................................................................................. 4 3.0 Methodology ........................................................................................................................................... 5 3.1 Focus Group ........................................................................................................................................ 5 3.2 Internet Survey ................................................................................................................................... 6 4.0 Water Knowledge ................................................................................................................................... 6 4.1 Water Terminology ............................................................................................................................. 6 4.2 Perceptions of Water Use ................................................................................................................... 8 5.0 Respondents’ Perceptions of Water Scarcity .......................................................................................... 9 6.0 Strategies for Securing Water Supplies ................................................................................................. 12 6.1 Short Term Scarcity ........................................................................................................................... 12 6.2 Long Term Water Scarcity ................................................................................................................. 14 7.0 Willingness to Pay for Acquisition Strategies and Compensation ........................................................ 16 8.0 Preferences for Investing in Rural Communities .................................................................................. 18 9.0 Respondents’ Attitudes about Household Conservation ..................................................................... 19 10.0 Government Jurisdiction, Mandates and Perceived Responsiveness ................................................ 20 11.0 The Natural Environment and the Economy: Respondents’ Attitudes ............................................... 24 12.0 Attitudes About Water and Wildlife ................................................................................................... 26 13.0 Demographic Information ................................................................................................................... 27 13. 1 Occupation ..................................................................................................................................... 28 13.2 Gender ............................................................................................................................................ 29 13.3 Age .................................................................................................................................................. 29 13.4 Home Ownership ............................................................................................................................ 29 13.5 Tenure in the West ......................................................................................................................... 31 13.6 Community Descriptions ................................................................................................................. 32 13.7 Education and Income .................................................................................................................... 33 3 1.0 Executive Summary Irrigated agriculture is a primary water user in the western United States, but rapid population growth is driving a reallocation to urban areas. By 2030, an estimated 33 million additional people are projected to be living in the West, r equiring approximately 30 billion more gallons of water for consumption (Western Governors’ Association, 2006). Water continues to move from farms to cities, with expected and sometimes unexpected results. The social, economic ,and environmental results of these water transfers are important yet are sometimes not well understood. Growth and subsequent water conflicts are often focused in agricultural areas where key water resources are fragile and scarce, as pointed out in the Bureau of Reclamation’s Water 2025 Report. The purpose of this study is to benchmark the public’s view of water reallocation issues with particular focus on households. An internet survey is used to gauge the public’s perceptions in the areas of water knowledge, perceived water scarcity, strategies for easing scarcity in the short and long run, re‐investment in rural communities that lose water as part of their economic base, household conservation of water resources, preferences in public policies and institutions, and attitudes about wildlife and water. Survey responses from 6,250 individuals in the West (17 states) provide several water‐related themes. First, respondents generally believe that water is scarce in the West, conditions are more difficult outside of their home state rather than within it and that scarcity will increase in the future. In the short term, respondents prioritize household