Education key to water quality

5/7/07
It was good news/bad news in a recently released report about pollution in Long Island Sound. People who live near the water are concerned about its health, but don’t do much themselves to keep the water clean. They say they want to stop pollution, but are counting on other people to do the heavy lifting.
The survey asked 1,220 residents within 15 miles of the shoreline about their knowledge and attitudes about pollution and the Sound, and what role they play in it. It showed a general lack of information about the main sources of pollution and about how everyday decisions have a real impact on water quality. But, encouragingly, it showed education can have a real impact on changing behavior.
For instance, well-informed residents were less likely to use fertilizer-heavy lawn-care techniques — excess chemicals are washed away with rainwater and often end up polluting the Sound. Also, people who pay attention to water quality issues were less likely to pour hazardous materials in a storm drain, or otherwise improperly dispose of them. Not every substance goes through a treatment plant, and even when they do, sewage plants are often overwhelmed, leaching nitrogen into the water.
As the survey’s organizers said, the results indicate a wide gap between concern about air pollution and public knowledge. The positive from that, though, is clear — people care about the Sound and want it to be healthy. What needs to be done now is educational, and that’s possible. It’s much easier to fill people in on the consequences of their actions, especially when they have a vested interest in those consequences, than it is to convince people to care in the first place.
In that regard, the Sound and its supporters are already ahead of the game.