Kansas City Survey Shows Improved Community Awareness of Water-Related Issues

Members of the community participate at a 10,000 Rain Gardens event.

A recent survey of 4,700 citizens in Kansas City, Missouri has demonstrated that a combination of advertisements and other promotional materials about sewer overflows, water quality, and stormwater management has resulted in an increased awareness that stormwater is a source of pollution.

The 10,000 Rain Gardens initiative is one project aimed at engaging citizens, corporations, educators, and non-profit organizations in reducing the amount of runoff that pollute Kansas City waterways. The initiative encourages the planting of native species near downspouts or sloped areas to increase the amount of vegetative uptake and adsorption of stormwater pollution before it ends up in waterways. The goal is to create attractive gardens that require little maintenance, reduce stormwater runoff, and even attract butterflies and bird species.

A six-week media campaign to launch 10,000 Rain Gardens has added to the growing local awareness of non-source point pollution. A mail and phone survey conducted by the ETC Institute, a community-based market research firm, showed that 41% of Kansas City area citizens now understand that stormwater is the number one contributor to Non-Source Point pollution in their streams and rivers, an increase of 11% from the survey six months prior to the rain garden campaign. Officials from ETC Institute said that’s almost twice as many citizens “getting it” as Detroit reported in a recent water quality survey.

In a similar survey three years ago, less than half the people thought they could do something to help improve water quality. Continued interest in presentations on how to build a rain garden, along with regional and national media coverage of the 10,000 Rain Gardens initiative, has shown citizens what to do about water quality in their own backyards. The website for 10,000 Rain Gardens has reported 50,000 visits since it’s inception, which shows a heightened interest in the community.

In 2003, only 25% of those surveyed had seen or heard ads related to water quality. Now, survey results show a majority of Kansas City citizens, 53%, say yes, they have seen or heard information. And 83% are willing to landscape their yard with native plants to help reduce pollution of streams and lakes in Kansas City.

Additionally, the new survey indicates increased public support for stream setbacks since 2003, up 4% and approaching a nearly unanimous level at 88%.

For more information regarding this initiative, visit www.RainKC.com.