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From July 8–16, 2022, the Oregon Values and Beliefs Center conducted a statewide survey of Oregonians to explore how they feel about water and drought in Oregon. Results were also compared to responses from a July 2021 OVBC survey[1] in order to examine changes over time. A description of the methodology used for the research is provided below.
The question numbers in this document correspond with the survey questionnaire (Q25A-G,Q26). Due to rounding, the percentages reported below may not add to 100% or compare exactly to the percentages for the same question in the annotated questionnaire or tabs.
A strong majority of Oregonians agree that cities and towns in Oregon need to move quicker to address drought (67%). While still a strong majority, this is actually an 11-point drop from the 78% who said quicker action was needed last year (Q25F).
Oregonians are almost evenly split between those who are willing to pay more in order to support drought-related infrastructure improvements and those who are not (49% to 40%) (Q25G).
Although nearly half of Oregonians agree there is enough water in Oregon to meet current needs (48%), 37% disagree with this and 15% are unsure (Q25A).
Those who live in the Willamette Valley are more likely than those living in the Tri-County area or the rest of the state to say Oregon has enough water (54% compared to 46-47%).
In 2021, 56% of Oregonians believe Oregon had enough water to meet current needs, but in 2022, that number dipped below 50% to 48%. The percentage of Oregonians who do not believe there is enough water in Oregon rose just slightly, from 34% in 2021 to 37% in 2022, but those who said they don’t know rose from 10% to 15%.
Men are more likely than women to believe we have enough water (56% compared to 42%), but men and women are both less confident there’s enough water this year compared to last year (63% to 50%).
Oregonians aren’t overly impressed with public agencies’ water supply management during droughts, but more people rate their performance as good (42%) than not (32%). More than a quarter aren’t sure whether or not public agencies are managing water supplies well (26%) (Q25D).
People don’t have a good feel for whether Oregon’s agricultural industry is taking decisive action to conserve water during droughts. 37% of Oregonians agree that decisive action is being taken, but nearly as many say they don’t know (34%), and only slightly fewer disagree (29%) (Q25B).
Only 36% of Oregonians think Oregon has enough water to meet future needs, and nearly half (46%) disagree (Q25C).
People living in the Willamette Valley are more optimistic than those in other areas that we have enough water to meet future needs. 41% of Willamette Valley residents agree we have enough water for the future, while an identical 34% in the Tri-County area and in the rest of the state feel the same way.
Among Oregonians outside the Willamette Valley, nearly half say we do not have enough water for future needs (Tri-County: 48%; Rest of State: 49%).
In 2021, Oregonians were much more evenly split between believing Oregon does (42%) or does not (45%) have enough water to meet future needs.
Just barely more than a quarter of Oregon residents think the general public is doing enough to conserve water during droughts (28%), and twice as many disagree (56%) (Q25E).
While many Oregonians feel okay about the current water supply in Oregon, many are worried about the future and think more needs to be done. Other Oregonians are feeling the effects of limited water supplies in their communities. Oregonians are also concerned about water being wasted on things they see as unnecessary (Q26).
“The land and water are overused and under maintained properly. Looking at the prehistory, before Europeans, people did not permanently live in one place. The areas in Eastern and Southern Oregon were place people passed through or were only here for harvesting natural foods. This land and water were not created for long term residency. As we can clearly see by the wells going dry just south of us.”
Woman, age 55-64, Klamath County, Native American, American Indian, or Alaska Native.
“I live on a well and it gets a bit rough come August, yet another home is being built on our hill with no discussion by the county as to whether the area can handle another home.”
Man, age 65-74, Benton County, white
“Our home uses a well for our water and we feel pretty secure that we have lots of water but I know at any time our well could dry up. We are moderately careful with water but I’m certain we could do more to conserve water.”
Woman, age 55-64, Linn County, white
“Irrigation districts have a very difficult, controversial task of directing our water resources. There are many factors behind their decisions that stand on precedent, and while some of it is good, I think it’s time to reframe the norm given where our water levels are and are likely to be in coming years. We can’t continue with business as usual, or our rivers won’t be able to recover.”
Non-binary or gender non-conforming and trans, age 18-29, Deschutes County, white
“We need to immediately prioritize life-giving uses of water and end the use for cosmetic (e.g. lawn)purposes. We need to incentivize lawn replacements and end HOA/CC&R/nuisance violations for brown lawns. We need to streamline statewide standards for rainfall capture irrigation systems and grey water systems”
Woman, age 30-44, Curry County, white
“The rainfall in Oregon isn’t the only water source, river water that flows from other states into Oregon need to be protected too.”
Man, age 18-29, Josephine County, white
“Small farmers are really hurting in my area of Oregon to maintain needed water supplies while a huge amount of water goes to unnecessary places (e.g. golf courses/resorts)”
Woman, age 30-44, Deschutes County, white
“Farmers and ranchers have pushed to have water storage built only to have it taken away or restricted.”
Man, age 55-64, Marion County, white
“I lived in the desert in the Southwest and paid 1/3 as much as here for water and used 3 times as much water. Oregon lunacy at work as always.”
Woman, age 45-54, Multnomah County, Asian
“It would be nice to ensure that the current water supplies are being managed properly taking all needs into consideration. Landowners should have more rights to the water that falls onto or comes from their property as long as they are not abusing it.”
Woman, age 45-54, Jackson County, Black or African American and white
“My towns water costs provide little incentive to conserve, plus it’s over priced”
Man, age 45-54, Wasco County, white
Identifying What Unites Us, Understanding What Divides Us
Reported below are statistically significant subgroup differences between BIPOC and white Oregonians, urban and rural Oregonians, and age groups. Many of these differences are not major and are presented to inform public education and communications initiatives.
OVBC surveys currently use aggregated data to analyze the opinions of BIPOC residents in comparison to the opinions of residents who identify as white and not another race. BIPOC residents are not a monolith; the grouping represents a wide diversity of races and ethnicities. The findings included in this memo should not be construed such that all people of color are believed to share the same opinions. Disaggregated race data will be provided when sample sizes permit reliability.
White Oregonians are much more pessimistic than Black, Indigenous and other Oregonians of color when it comes to water management and drought.
Methodology: The online survey consisted of 1,572 Oregon residents ages 18+ and took approximately 15 minutes to complete. Respondents were contacted by using professionally maintained online panels. In gathering responses, a variety of quality control measures were employed, including questionnaire pre-testing, validation, and real-time monitoring of responses. To ensure a representative sample, demographic quotas were set, and data weighted by area of the state, gender, age, and education.
Statement of Limitations: Based on a 95% confidence interval, this survey’s margin of error for the full sample ±2.5%. Due to rounding or multiple answer questions, response percentages may not add up to 100%.