Abstract

Stormwater infrastructure substantially impacts water quality and supply. In the U.S., local agency investments rely on public support from taxes or fees. Assessing individuals’ knowledge and willingness to pay helps inform potential pathways to funding and green infrastructure implementation. Using a 2018–2019 survey of 868 University of California students and staff, we analyze stormwater knowledge and willingness to pay or support public fund allocation for green infrastructure, especially natural treatment systems (NTS). Results of three separate regression models, each with a one-campus random sample and an all-campus convenience sample, show the majority of respondents supported allocating personal and campus funds for NTS. Preexisting environmental attitudes (on the New Ecological Paradigm scale) were the most common driver in nearly all models, but with inconsistent results and low explanatory power across models. Harnessing public support to increase stormwater investment may require tailored benefit messaging or other motivational frameworks, particularly in semiarid environments.

摘要

雨水基础设施极大地影响了水的质量和供应。在美国，当地机构的投资依赖税收或收费的公共支持。评估个人的知识和支付意愿有助于为筹集资金和实施绿色基础设施提供潜在途径。通过对加利福尼亚大学868名学生和教职员工进行的2018-2019年调查，我们分析了雨水知识以及为绿色基础设施（尤其是自然处理系统（NTS））支付或支持公共资金分配的意愿。三个单独的回归模型的结果（每个模型都有一个校园随机样本和一个全校园便利样本）显示大多数受访者支持为NTS分配个人和校园资金。先前存在的环境态度（在“新生态范式”范围内）是几乎所有模型中最常见的驱动因素，但结果不一致且模型间的解释力较低。要获得公众的支持以增加雨水投资，可能需要量身定制的收益信息或其他激励性框架，特别是在半干旱环境中。