Survey Shows Residents Concerned about Future Water Supply

Santa Cruz Water Supply Advisory Commitee
October 23, 2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:  Eileen Cross, Community Relations Specialist 831.676.7090

Survey Shows Residents Concerned about Future Water Supply

Survey Shows Strong Support For Water Restrictions

 

SANTA CRUZ (October 23, 2014) – Though Santa Cruz residents listed concern about water supply as their current top issue of concern within the city, they also reported strong support for water restrictions, including rationing, in a recent survey conducted on behalf of the Water Supply Advisory Committee.

The telephone survey, conducted by Gene Bregman and Associates during the week of October 6, 2014, queried residents on their opinions on issues of concern within the city. Worry about future water supplies surfaced as the top concern, with 77% of polled residents reporting it as a “very serious” need facing the city. 74% responded that “inadequate water supplies for our future needs” is a very serious problem and 59% reported that “inadequate water supplies for all our needs today” is a very serious problem.

Though 51% of those surveyed strongly agreed with the statement “I’ve already cut back on water use for my home as much as I can; there’s not much more I can do to save water,” 82% said that the statement “while the current water restrictions are sometimes difficult, I will keep implementing most of them even when there is no drought” came closest to their opinion. And when asked how often water rationing would be acceptable during the next ten years, 49% said the current level of rationing “is always acceptable.”

In addition to strong support for water restrictions, the survey also demonstrated strong support for new water supplies. 52% of survey respondents reported that “we have too little water most of the time; we need to create new supplies and lessen demand all the time” and 60% reported “we need to find new sources of water if we are going to solve our long-term water supply problems.” 69% strongly agreed with the statement “we need to have a more stable and predictable supply of water whether or not we are experiencing drought conditions.”

40% of residents polled reported that “being able to flush the toilet whenever it is used” was very important to them; only 9% reported being “able to wash my car” as very important. However protecting the environment with ongoing reduction measures was very important to 79% of residents surveyed.

The telephone survey was conducted the week of October 6. Four hundred registered voters residing in the City of Santa Cruz Water Service Area were interviewed. Full survey results will be presented by Gene Bregman to the Water Supply Advisory Committee at their October 23 meeting, which the public is invited and encouraged to attend. The meeting will be held from 5:00-9:30pm, in the Fellowship Hall at Peace United Church of Christ, 900 High Street. To see the complete survey click here.

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