Results of Santa Cruz Water Supply Advisory Committee survey released

A recent telephone survey conducted in the city of Santa Cruz found that residents believe water supply to be the biggest concern within the city. Residents also reported strong support for water restrictions, including rationing.

The survey, conducted by Gene Bregman and Associates during the week of October 6, queried residents on their opinions on issues of concern within the city.

Worry about future water supplies surfaced as the top concern, with 77 percent of polled residents reporting it as a “very serious” need facing the city.

Among the other findings:

74 percent responded that “inadequate water supplies for our future needs” is a very serious problem
59 percent reported that “inadequate water supplies for all our needs today” is a very serious problem.
51 percent of those surveyed strongly agreed with the statement “I’ve already cut back on water use for my home as much as I can; there’s not much more I can do to save water”
82 percent said that the statement “while the current water restrictions are sometimes difficult, I will keep implementing most of them even when there is no drought” came closest to their opinion.
49 percent said the current level of rationing “is always acceptable” when asked how often water rationing would be acceptable during the next ten years
52 percent of survey respondents reported that “we have too little water most of the time; we need to create new supplies and lessen demand all the time”
60 percent reported “we need to find new sources of water if we are going to solve our long-term water supply problems.”
69 percent strongly agreed with the statement “we need to have a more stable and predictable supply of water whether or not we are experiencing drought conditions.”
40 percent of residents polled reported that “being able to flush the toilet whenever it is used” was very important to them
9 percent reported being “able to wash my car” as very important.

Four hundred registered voters in the city of Santa Cruz were surveyed. The full results can be viewed here.