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PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS OF WATER QUALITY IN A METROPOLITAN AREA 1
Author(s) -
Hines William W.,
Willeke Gene E.
Publication year - 1974
Publication title -
jawra journal of the american water resources association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.957
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1752-1688
pISSN - 1093-474X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1752-1688.1974.tb05634.x
Subject(s) - metropolitan area , atlanta , population , enforcement , water quality , quality (philosophy) , sample (material) , perception , geography , socioeconomics , business , environmental health , economics , psychology , political science , law , medicine , ecology , philosophy , chemistry , archaeology , epistemology , chromatography , neuroscience , biology
ABSTRACT: A survey of public‐perception of water quality problems in the Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan area was undertaken in 1970, using a 1594 case probability sample of households in Fulton and DeKalb Counties. The survey showed that 2/3 of the population considered water quality problems serious or critical, and 56 percent thought they were getting worse. A stronger enforcement role for the State and increased expenditures for improved treatment facilities were favored by 3/4 of the population. Both industries and municipalities were considered major contributors to water pollution. Those most familiar with the water quality situation considered the problem more serious and getting worse than did the remainder of the population. Perceptual variables were far more important as explanatory factors than were any demographic variables.