The population in the American West has been increasing at a rapid rate and is predicted to continue growing. As a result, the availability, use, and allocation of water throughout the West have become the source of conflict and contention. This growing conflict emphasizes the need to understand the diversity of values, beliefs, and attitudes that members of the general public throughout the West hold about the allocation of water resources. Using data collected from an internet-based survey, dimensions for basic beliefs about water conservation were developed. Respondents from the state of Colorado were clustered based on their level of agreement to these basic belief dimensions. These clustered respondents were then compared on attitudinal preferences regarding priorities for water allocation and municipal strategies for water conservation. Results supported the existence of distinct segments based on value-laden basic beliefs about water conservation and the connection of these segments with preferences toward specific water management strategies. Values-based segmentation, when connected with specific preferences for management actions, can help inform water managers when making future water conservation and policy decisions.

中文翻译：

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对水资源分配的态度：对公众的节水信念进行细分

美国西部的人口一直在快速增长，预计还将继续增长。因此，整个西部地区的水资源供应、使用和分配已成为冲突和争论的根源。这种日益增长的冲突强调需要了解整个西方公众对水资源分配所持有的价值观、信仰和态度的多样性。使用从基于互联网的调查收集的数据，开发了有关节水的基本信念的维度。来自科罗拉多州的受访者根据他们对这些基本信念维度的同意程度进行了聚类。然后将这些聚集的受访者在关于水资源分配优先级和市政节水策略的态度偏好方面进行比较。结果支持基于价值负载的关于节水的基本信念的不同部分的存在，以及这些部分与对特定水管理策略的偏好的联系。基于价值的细分，当与管理行动的特定偏好相联系时，可以帮助水资源管理者在制定未来的节水和政策决策时提供信息。