People’s attitudes towards the
issues related to water resource in Lubbock
Duy Quang Pham
Texas Tech University
Abstract
Survey method was applied in a class
research project, ESL 5301 at Texas Tech University, to explore if residents in
the area of Lubbock, Texas, had a positive perception towards water issues and
whether there was any difference in men's and women's perception, or students'
and non-students' attitude about water conservation. 150 surveys were delivered
to residents primarily on the Texas Tech University campus by seventeen members
of the research group. Data were synthesized by using Microsoft Excel software.
The result showed that people had a positive perception towards water issues in
the area with a slight difference between male and female subjects' attitude.
Student and non-student population also made reverse outcomes in which
non-student subjects exposed a knowledge about water issues in the area,
whereas student subjects were slightly less experienced about those issues. Future
studies should focus on experiments to elucidate these initial explorations.
Introduction
Along with population, issues
related to environment have increasingly become a primary concern to
scientists. However, environmental perception in lay people actually is a
problem in campaigns that focus on conserving the quality of natural
environments, thereby sustaining human living space in a balanced situation. Of
natural resources, water has become more of a concern recently in the scientific
community. Clear water nowadays has been regarded as one of the natural
resources that could be depleted by human usage. Many organizations in the
world call for preservation of clear water resources for a sustainable world.
Lubbock is a city located in the
northwestern part of Texas State with a mild, semi-arid climate, which has been
facing different problems related to water usage. According to the Water
Department, the city is currently under stage 1 of water restriction. According
to Blackburn (2008), most of Lubbock’s water supply comes from the Canadian
River Municipal Water Authority, "a group formed 50 years ago with 10
other Panhandle communities to build and provide drinking water from Lake
Meredith." Besides, Lake Alan Henry with the estimation of $240 million as
a cost to assessing its water is considered as the second sustainable and cost
effective water supply for the city and other neighboring communities. Fleming
(2012) mentioned the situation of a changing climate and scarce water in West
Texas. Many factors contributed to the present condition such as a cycle of
hotter temperatures, more people, water-sapping cotton farming, and a
devastating 2011 drought (Fleming, 2012). Farmers should be people affected by
the condition of scarce water. The limits on how much water farmers can pump
from their wells dropped to 21 inches per acre per year and it is anticipated
to be 18 inches in 2014 (Fleming, 2012).
Other victims, ranches, had to cut their cattle herd and use more
resilient grass seeds.
Due to increasing problems related
to water, there are many campaigns focusing on solving the situation in Lubbock.
Most strategies strive to find new replacing water sources; others deal with
reducing water usage by evoking in users recognition of necessity of water
conservation. However, one of the issues that scientists and the authorities
are interested in is people's perception related to environmental problems,
especially perception in students and young people from disadvantaged areas (Starch,
1994). Also, there are many research findings showing that women are more
interested in environmental issues than men are (Davidson & Freudenburg,
1996). Therefore, the purpose of this study is to find out how people in
Lubbock perceive water problems and the differences between men's and women's
attitudes towards water issues.
Study Objective and Question
Based on existing literature, it is posited that there
are problems related to water resources in Lubbock, which people should be
concerned about. Specific aims of the study are to
explore whether people in the area recognize the current contexts and other
issues related to water resources. The main research questions are: (1) To what
extent do people understand the situation of water resources in Lubbock and
attitudes toward water conservation? (2) Is there any difference in perceptions
of water issues between men and women? Do students have more awareness than
residents in the area?
Hypothesis
It was hypothesized that people
recognized issues related to water resources and they had a positive attitude
in supporting authorities toward establishing policies for conserving water
resources in Lubbock. In addition, it should be presumed that Lubbock residents
and women would be more aware about water issues than students and men
generally.
Method
A total of 150 surveys were delivered to
residents in Lubbock by a group of people in ESL 5301, advanced academic writing
class. The group included four teachers and thirteen students. Each member
received nine surveys but was asked to conduct just eight and kept one for
their reference. The surveys were collected primarily on the Texas Tech University
campus, because this was a class project and there was no fund provided to do
more extensive surveying. Texas Tech University is a multi-cultural community
which included 33,111 students in 2013 spreading over ten colleges with degrees
in 150 undergraduate, 100 master’s and 50 doctoral programs. These were
appropriate aspects for the current study which wanted to get a diverse sample.
Another reason for the selection of Texas Tech University campus was to focus
more on student and academic population.
To meet research purposes, some criteria
were predefined for selecting survey subjects. Each member was required to get
four male and four female participants and at least five American people should
be included. The survey had twelve questions, not including other three
demographic questions at the beginning of the survey. Survey respondents would
have to show their knowledge and concern about issues related to water in
Lubbock by answering mostly yes-no questions. In fact, each member in the research
group was in different departments and colleges, which created a diverse sample
appropriate for the current study. Most of the members conducted surveys at
their academic units while some of them did their task in the main library and
different places close to campus.
Result
Demographic information of the
survey showed that 75 participants were from Texas, 36 from the US but not from
Texas, and 39 were international persons. Of 150 subjects, there were 75 males
and 75 females of whom 20 males came from the US but not from Texas, 38 males
from Texas, and 17 other males from international countries; 16 females came
from the US but not from Texas, 37 females from Texas, and 22 other females from
international countries. These results showed a balanced ratio between males
and females who took part in the survey. The student population had 110
subjects including 54 students who lived in Texas, 21 students in the US but
not Texas, and 35 who were international students. There were 40 non-student
participants, 21 of whom were from Texas, 15 from the US but not Texas, and 4 who
were international subjects.
Human perception
towards water issues
The extent to which people know
about water issues in Lubbock was addressed in questions 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. The
fact that people knew concepts related to water conservation should demonstrate
their concern towards water issues. “Fracking” is a term word which mentions
the process of drilling and injecting fluid into the ground at a high pressure
in order to fracture shale rocks to release natural gas inside. Hence, in
question 2, "Do you know what fracking is?" there were 96
participants answering yes versus 54 checking no. Also, to answer for question
4, "How knowledgeable are you about where Lubbock gets it water
supply?" 31 respondents checked "very knowledgeable" and 74
respondents checked "somewhat" while another 45 participants checked
"not very." These results showed that there were 70% of people who
were concerned about Lubbock's water resource being at an acceptable level. The
ratio of 75 yes over 72 no answering for question 5, "Do you know where
Lubbock is getting its water for public use now?" showed a balance in
respondents' knowledge about Lubbock water resources. 86 respondents believed
in water restrictions for the city of Lubbock in question 7. In addition,
perception towards activities related to water saving demonstrated a concern
about water shortage. 125 participants checked "yes" for the question
"Do you usually, generally, try to save water? (For example, turn it off
while brushing teeth)" showing people's concern about water conservation
in the area and perception towards water issues. In question 12, "Which
best describes your feelings about Lubbock's ability to get water in the
future?" 56 respondents (37%) checked "confident" and 85
respondents (57%) checked "worried." As such, a majority of 50% of
people in the survey showed a worried feeling about the water resource in
Lubbock.
Lubbock residents’ and
women's versus non-residents’ and male's perception towards water issues
The hypothesis that Lubbock
residents and women are more aware about water issues also was supported by
data collection. Although female subjects in the study were mostly students at
Texas Tech University campus, the outcomes should represent for women in
Lubbock in a formal context. The survey classified Texas residents instead of
Lubbock residents as a category in comparison to US residents and international
residents. There were 47 respondents (63%) from Texas answering that they
worried about Lubbock's ability to get water in the future versus 15
respondents (42%) from the US not Texas and 23 respondents (59%) from
international countries. Also, 52 females (64%) versus only 33 males (49%)
worried about ability to get water in the future. In the question asking about
saving water in usage (question 10), 63 subjects (84%) from Texas, 30 subjects
(83%) from the US not Texas, and 32 subjects (82%) from international countries
checked yes; also, 65 females (87%) versus 60 males (83%) answered yes for this
question. With the question about water sources, Texans were more knowledgeable
about Lake Meredith. 39 respondents (52%) from Texas, 18 respondents (50%) from
the US not Texas and 10 international respondents (26%) showed knowledge of
Lake Meredith.
Discussion
Research related to human perception
is an initial step leading to particular studies which should help to solve
problems practically. The current study can be considered as a useful inquiry
to see what Lubbock residents perceive about water issues in the area. Data in
the survey showed a significant concern in Lubbock residents' perception,
especially women, towards water conservation, water resources, and government
policies to sustain clear water resources. In fact, among issues that people
pay attention to, water issues (62%), water pollution (69%), and air pollution
(68%) are the highest scores. This tendency could be explained by a predominant
role of air and water in human beings' everyday life and a lot of educating
information about those two crucial factors. Also, another aspect that should
make those high scores is Lubbock's climate conditions which is mild and
semi-arid with much desert land and hot air. In a particular question about
fracking, the result once demonstrated a knowledgeable sample drawn from Texas
Tech campus with a ratio of 96 yes responses (64%). Fracking is a term closely
related to water issues in hydraulic fracturing. A high score in this question
might prove a significant concern regarding water problems in the area.
However, just 52 (35%) respondents believed that fracking endangers the public
water supply, which could be considered a surprising result.
Knowledge of water issues could be
evidence for possible strategies in conserving this running-out resource.
Although a probe including questions about Lubbock water supply showed slightly
higher rate responses supporting a positive perception, the difference was not
large enough to claim that there was a significant concern about water supply
in Lubbock. This result could be explained by a non-uniform sample that
surveyors conducted. In addition, the limitation in answer options might also
make the result less confident. However, human perception is actually an
intuitive concept which could be influenced by a random selection. For student
subjects, water issues or environmental problems could attract their attention,
which lead to a significant biased outcome in comparison to other subjects. For
Lubbock resident respondents, their experience could affect their replies.
The difference between women's and
men's perception towards water issues may be an evolutionary factor. In
questions related to perception, women often showed their concern about water
issues much more than men did. However, in particular actions to conserve water,
there were similar ratios in answers between men and women. The fact that male
subjects paid attention to saving water was proved in this survey in question
10 asking about saving water in everyday activities such as brushing teeth.
This result again demonstrated the different natures of men and women in a
particular event. For men, they tend to do instead of just thinking or saying.
On the contrary, women hesitate in their decision. This could explain why
female subjects were in favor of water conservation, but did not show a
dominant tendency in practical activities to promote strategies.
Another surprising outcome related
to male and female difference was in question 5 asking, “Do you know where
Lubbock is getting its water for public use, now?” There were 35 women (47%)
versus 40 men (56%) answering yes, which showed a significant higher score in
men's responses. This contrast with hypothesis could be accounted for by
aforementioned explanation. Men tend to be more specific in factual data than
women do.
In the question asking for selecting
people who take more water than others, respondents considered that people who
took water for their lawns spent more water than they should. Actually, this
could be a common phenomenon in the US, where requirements in residential units
have been strictly set and the way that lawns are automatically watered. With
91 subjects (61%) choosing “people who water their lawns” versus 70 subjects
(47%) for “oil drillers” and 51 subjects (34%) for farmers, water use for
public purposes seems to be considered wasteful in human perception in the
current study. This result also led to relative equality in belief in water
restrictions for farmers in the area, which showed 54 respondents (36%)
answered yes, 48 respondents (32%) answered no, and 45 respondents (30%)
answered that they did not know. Perhaps, people considered that activities
making economic benefits deserved to use more water than other public
activities. For women, the result in this question (question 9) was contrary to
the general result. The result showed that women did not believe in water
restrictions for farmers in the area with 21 women (28%) saying yes, 27 women
(36%) saying no, and 27 women (36%) saying that they did not know. The result
for men conformed to the general result, which showed a consistence with
explanation that women do not care much more about specific factual data than
men do. Men also expressed concern about the way that Lubbock authority
enforces water restrictions more than women with 40 male subjects (56%) in
comparison to just 33 female subjects (44%) saying that they did not think so
(question 8).
The student population seems to be the same as the general population with all
figures approximately equal to general results. On the contrary, non-student
population exposed reverse results in comparison to the general tendency. In
most of questions, results for non-student population often indicated a
significant difference or contrast outcomes. For example, in a question about
fracking, 59% student subjects knew the concept but there were as much as 78%
non-student subjects recognizing it. Or asking how Lake Meredith related to
Lubbock's water supply, just 37% student respondents said yes whereas 69% of the non-student respondents answered yes
for this question. Actually, this result could be easy to predict because the majority
of non-student subjects were from Lubbock; therefore, they should have much
knowledge about water issues as well as other things related to the area.
In conclusion, research about human
perception in environmental problems could be considered as initial steps for
practical strategies in the future. Water problems have been people's concern
for a long time. Lubbock is a place where climate is slightly arid, which leads
to some water problems. In addition, human beings have been contributing to making
those issues more severe. The current study was based on a survey method to explore
how Lubbock residents were aware of water issues and differences in men's and
women's perception, in students' and non-students' attitude towards water
problems. Although the study had many limitations such as non-representative
sample, unspecific survey questions, and non-random sample, it should be valid
in terms of investigating aspects for general understanding. Future studies may
concentrate on exploring significant differences in men's and women's attitude
towards water issues or experimenting between student and non-student
population to see if there is any influence of education in environmental
perception.
References
Blackburn, E. (2013). Many eyes on
Lubbock's water. Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Retrieved on September 05, 2013 from http://lubbockonline.com/stories/060808/loc_287908754
Chow, D. (2013). Huge
aquifer that runs through 8 states quickly being tapped out. LiveScience. Retrieved on August 29, 2013 from http://www.nbcnews.com/science/huge-aquifer-runs through-8-states-quickly-being-tapped-out-8C11009320
Davidson, D. J., & Freudenburg,
W. R. (1996). Gender and Environmental Risk Concerns: A
Review
and Analysis of Available Research. Environment
& Behavior, 28(3), 302-339.
Fleming, P. (2012). Portrait of a
Drought: Finding Water Where It Ain’t. Climate
Progress.
Retrieved
on Oct. 10, 2013 from http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/10/19/1052091/portrait-of-a-drought-finding- water-where-it-aint
Galbraith, K. (2012). Getting kids
to wise up about water conservation. The
New York
Times.
Retrieved on Oct. 10, 2013 from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/02/us/getting- kids-to-wise-up-about-water-conservation.html?_r=1&
Sauter, M. B., & Hess, A. E. M.
(2013). Nine Cities Running Out of water. 24/7
Wall St..Retrieved on Oct. 10,
2013 from http://finance.yahoo.com/news/nine-cities-running- water-192757786.html
Starch, R. (1994). Environmental
attitudes and behaviors of American Youth. National
Environmental
Education and Training Foundation. Retrieved on Oct. 10, 2013 from http://eelink.net/ROPER/TOC.html
Wikipedia. (2013). Lubbock, Texas.
Retrieved on Oct. 10, 2013 from
Young, A. D. (2013). Water
conservation rules to begin Monday include reduced
watering
hours. Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Retrieved on Aug. 29, 2013 from http://lubbockonline.com/local-news/2013-03-29/water-conservation-rules-begin- monday-include-reduced-watering-hours#.Uh9k5TakopU
Appendix
Survey
questions
ESL
5301
Survey
Thank
you for filling out our survey!
I
am from
___Texas
___USA, not Texas
___international, not USA
I
am
___student
___non-student
I
am
___Male
___Female
1. Check the issues that you feel are the
most important. Check as many as you like.
___rising
sea levels
___global
warming
___increasing
storms, tornados, & hurricans
___increasing
flooding
___drought
___fresh
water supply
___fracking
& drilling and their effects
___air
pollution
___water
pollution
2. Do you know what fracking is?
___Y ___N
3. Do you believe fracking endangers the public water supply?
___Y ___N ___Don't know
4. How knowledgeable are you about where Lubbock gets its water supply?
___Very knowledgeable ___Somewhat ___Not very
5. Do you know where Lubbock is getting its water for public use, now?
___Y ___N
6. Do you know how Lake Meredith us related to the question of Lubbock's
water supply?
___Y ___N
7. Do you believe in water restrictions for the city of Lubbock?
___Y ___N ___Don't know
8. Do you think Lubbock enforces its water restrictions effectively?
___Y ___N ___Don't know
9. Do you believe in water restrictions for farmers in the area?
___Y ___N ___Don't know
10. Do you usually, generally, try
to save water (for example, turn it off while brushing teeth)?
___Y ___N
11. Which of the people on the list take MORE water than they should,
based on the availability of the resource? Check as many as you like.
___farmers
___oil drillers
___people who water
their lawns
12. Which best describes your feelings about Lubbock's ability to get
water in the future?
___confident
___worried
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