1 of 32

Arizona Water Survey Report

Strengthening human-centered-design at AWII by understanding the water perceptions and knowledge gaps of AZ residents.

2 of 32

Presentation Contents

Research Team

Survey Design

Response Analysis

Coding Insights

Survey Sample vs. Census Data

{

3 of 32

Research Team

Dr. Claire Lauer

Information Architect for AWII

Professor of Technical Comm. and User Experience

Danielle Storey, M.S.

Associate UX Researcher for AWII

Srinivasan Ravichandran

Graduate Research Associate

4 of 32

Research Goals

Identify Arizonans’ common water information sources

Understand what questions people have about Arizona water, within their local communities and the state.

Comprehend the level of concern or fear people might have around the water situation in Arizona

5 of 32

Survey Design

Contextual Questions:

Where do you get knowledge about water supply & quality?

What water topics do you discuss with people you know?

If you could ask any three questions about water in AZ, what would they be?

Demographic Questions:

Age
How long have you lived in Arizona?
What zip code do you live in?
Do you own a home?

6 of 32

Survey Results

7 of 32

Results Overview

270 people took this survey over the course of May 2023-May 2024.

50% of respondents have lived in Arizona 10+ years

9% have lived in Arizona 6-10 years

11% have lived in Arizona 2-5 years

14.5% have lived in Arizona < 2 years

15.5% live outside of Arizona

*our analysis excluded out-of-state people

8 of 32

Results Overview

Age distribution

41% of respondents are 18-24

27% are age 25-34

13% are age 35-44

8% are age 45-54

11% are 55+

Location

78 AZ zip codes

35 out of state respondents

*compared to census data the results of this survey skew urban and younger, under 45.

9 of 32

Ages represented

10 of 32

Locations Represented��

93% our respondents are urban dwelling Arizonans. We plan to gather more rural perspectives moving forward.

Cities represented:

Tempe, Chandler, Mesa, Glendale, Phoenix, Paradise Valley, Tucson, Casa Grande, Flagstaff, Scottsdale, Buckeye, Globe, Goodyear, Avondale, Peoria, Yuma, Sun City, Cave Creek, Gold Canyon, Apache Junction, Eloy, Marana, Prescott, Bullhead City

11 of 32

Where are the survey respondents getting their water quality knowledge?

12 of 32

Where are the survey respondents getting their water supply knowledge?

13 of 32

What do Arizonans discuss about water?

14 of 32

How long have the respondents lived in Arizona?

15 of 32

Resident Questions

16 of 32

Access & Equity

Affordability & Price

Environment & Impact

Industry Business & Agriculture

Infrastructure & Management

Innovative Solutions & Technologies

Legal & Policy

Diving Deeper

We classified people’s questions into 13 categories

Public Awareness & Education

Quality and Safety

Real Estate & Land Development

Sustainability & Conservation

Availability & Sourcing

Spans multiple categories

17 of 32

A Snapshot of Questions:

When will state-wide groundwater regulations be enacted?”

How do I best filter/treat water in my home for the benefit of my family & myself?”

What are we doing to secure usable water for the future?

“

18 of 32

Then, we determined the tone of each question

Concern/fear/bias

Solutions oriented

Neutral query

We aren’t just looking for WHAT people want to know.

We are trying to identify how people FEEL about the water situation in Arizona.

Diving Deeper

19 of 32

What were the most prevalent water questions? .

151

96

83

Out of the 632 questions,

these categories were most frequently represented, showcasing top information gaps.

20 of 32

What tone was being conveyed?

solution-oriented

30%

general query

26%

concern/fear

44%

21 of 32

What is the relationship between age and tone of the responses?

Younger respondents (18-24) are the most represented in this survey, and they show the highest level of concern/fear with 48% of their questions expressing this tone. They show the lowest prevalence of solutions-oriented questions at 25%. This could be indicative of a Generation Z tendency towards higher levels of anxiety around climate issues, and the future compared to Millennials, Gen X and Boomers. (Pew Research Center, 2021)

Middle-aged respondents (25-44) show a 44% prevalence of concern/fear, and 32% prevalence of solutions-oriented questions.

Older respondents (45 and above) The downward trend in concern/fear continues with 45+ respondents as they reveal a 41% prevalence rate. This rate of concern/fear drops even lower after age 55 to 35%. The upward trend in solutions-oriented questions continue with a 39% prevalence rate in Gen X and Boomers.

Pew Research Center, May 2021, “Gen Z, Millennials Stand Out for Climate Change Activism, Social Media Engagement With Issue

22 of 32

Age and Categories of Importance

23 of 32

Age and Tone .

As age increased so did solution-oriented tone.

Older respondents showed less concern/fear

24 of 32

Duration Of Residency in Arizona and Water Information

This data skews toward long-term residents (10+ years) We noticed that long term residents had the lowest water Quality and Safety concerns. They also focused their questions heavily on Legal and Policy, with a +10% prevalence rate compared to other residency groups.

Mid-term residents (2-10 years) are also most concerned with Quality and Safety, but their questions are more evenly distributed than new residents.

Newer residents (less than 2 years) show the highest within-group prevalence Quality and Safety questions 42%, which is +19% above the average among all respondents. It’s possible this surge in focus on Quality and Safety reflects initial impressions on the hardness of Arizona water.

25 of 32

Relationship between Duration Of Residence in Arizona and Water Concerns

10+ years of residency

reflecting a deeper familiarity with the region's water challenges, long term residents expressed higher rates of the concern/fear tone.

Less than 2 years of residency

Show significant concern, possibly reflecting initial impressions or early experiences with water issues.

2-10 years of residency

have concerns but to a lesser extent

26 of 32

42%

Duration Of Residency in Arizona and Water Information

Concerns about quality balance out across categories as participants get older

27 of 32

35%

65%

Respondents who own a home

Respondents who rent

Do homeowners have different water concerns or information gaps vs. people who rent?

28 of 32

Homeowners and renters vary in their focus

29 of 32

Category Breakdown

Homeowner Focus

Quality & Safety 16.5%

Legal & Policy 13.3%

Availability & Sourcing 13.3%

Sustainability & 13.3%

Conservation

Public Awareness 6.88%

Renter Focus

Quality & Safety 28.89%

Legal & Policy 7.8%

Availability & Sourcing 16.3% �

Sustainability & 13.3%

Conservation

Multiple Categories 6.28%

(i.e. many questions

touched on state policy

and conservation efforts.)

**+5.5% higher

+12.4% higher

Renters focused on water quality more, and expressed +18.36% more concern/fear about water quality. Water quality was the most represented category and concern area among all respondents.

30 of 32

How does our survey respondent sample align with Arizona census data?

https://data.census.gov

Age Group	Water Survey Sample	2022 Census Demographics
18-24	40.53%	9.8%
25-34	26.87%	13.7%
35-44	13.22%	12.5%
45-54	8.37%	11.7%
55+	11.01%	30.2%

Our survey sample skews toward younger generations

31 of 32

Thank you for your interest!

Questions can be directed to Claire Lauer or Danielle Storey

32 of 32

Here are the Qs we want to answer w/ the data

Where do people typically get their water information?

What are people saying about water? – didn’t get to this question yet

What were the frequencies of tone observed from the respondents?

What are people most concerned about in regards to water?

What information categories are most prevalent in the responses?

Does length of time in Arizona show us any patterns with expressed concerns or queries about water? Does age show us any patterns with expressed concerns or queries about water?

Did we see any tone patterns related to age, time spent in Arizona, or home ownership status?

Does home ownership influence the types of concerns or questions people have about water?

Future Research Question : What is the difference in concern between rural and urban, if any?