AN INVESTIGATION INTO ATTITUDES TOWARDS WARER POLLUTION IN THE SHUSWAP LAKE AREA OF BRITISH COLUMBIA pot

AN INVESTIGATION INTO ATTITUDES TOWARDS WATER PCLLUTION IN Tm SHUSWAP LAKE ARJ3A OF BRITISH COLUMBIA. BY James Alistair McVey M,A. (hons. ) , st, Andrews University, 1967. A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE FU3QUIREmNTS FOR THE DEGFEE OF MASTER OF ARTS in the Department of Geography 0 JAMES ALISTAIR MCVEY 1973 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY December 1973 All rights reserved, This thesis may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. APPROVAL Name r Degree : Title of Thesis r James Alistair McVey Master of Arts An Investigation into Attitudes Towards Water Pollution in the Shuswap Lake Area of British Columbia Examining C omrnittee : Chairman: E.J. Hickin T. d'~iordan Senior Supervisor M.E. Eliot Hurst R.C. Brown M.L. Barker PARTIAL COPYRICllT LICENSE I hereby grant to Simon Fraser University the right to lend my thesis or dissertation (the title of which is shown below) to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. I further agree that permission for multiple copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by me or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Title of Thesis I~issertation : Author : (signature) (name ) ,- (date) ABSTRACT During the summer of 1969 an apparent decline in water quality in Shuswap Lake became a hotly debated political issue in the Salmon Arm area of British Columbia. The purpose of this study was to investigate public awareness of the pollution problem. In particular, the goal was to isolate the social factors which influenced the level of awareness of individuals in the community and to determine the sensitivity of local decision makers to this awareness. The following hypotheses were theref ore proposed a (1) that awareness of the problems of water quality will depend upon the socio-economic status of the individual, such that (a) awareness of the problems of water quality will increase with experience in water- oriented recreation activities and active involvement in community affairs, and (b) that a sense of political efficacy in coping with community problems will increase with experience in water-oriented recreation activities and active involvement in community affairs, (2) that there was no demonstrable difference in the awareness of the public of both the Village and the District of Salmon Arm concerning problems of water quality. To test these hypotheses, a questionnaire survey was conducted in the two communities during the period when the iii debate was at its peak and there was widespread local concern for the future quality of the lake. The results of the study show that awareness, knowledge and expressed concern for water quality problems are inter- related. In turn, these are linked to personal experiences in the use of water through recreational activities, involvement in community affairs, and a sense of political efficacy in coping with community problems, These bonds are all connected to socio-economic status, which seems to act as a surrogate for the more important variables of experience, community activity and political efficacy in influencing preferences for water quality improvement, The results also suggest that the information channel(s) between the electors and their representatives is extremely weak, with local decision makers generally unaware of public opinion about local environmental issues, but giving the impression that their actions are conducted in the best interests of the communities they represent, TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE CHAPTER I The rise of concern over environmental quality . . . 1 Attitudes relating to environmental quality issues . 8 Environmental quality as a political issue . . . . . 14 The Study Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 The Problem: eutrophication . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Pollution control policy in British Columbia . . . . 27 Municipal financing for environmental projects . . . 29 The sewage treatment and water quality issue in Salmon Arm. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Statement of the problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 CHAPTER II SAMPLING AND ANALYSIS 37 Limitation of the Survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 CHAPTER I11 RESULTS OF THE STUDY General findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Participation in water-oriented recreation . . . . . 44 Socio-economic characteristics of the sample . . . . 45 Socio-economic status and awareness of problems of water quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 The relationship between awareness of water quality and frequency of contact with water bodies . . . . 49 The relationship between awareness of water quality and community activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 The relationship between social activity and opinion of the political efficacy of individual action . . . 64 PAGE Analysis of the awareness of the residents of the Village and the District of Salmon Arm concerning water quality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 CHAPTER IV Socio-economic status and awareness of problems of water quality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 Experience withwater bodies . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Social interaction in the community . . . . . . . . . 81 Efficacy of individual political action . . . . . . . 83 Public opinion in the two Salmon Arm Communities . . 85 Futher research needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY . . 0. . 93 APPENDIX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ,101 LIST OF TABLES TABLE - PAGE 1. Location of those interviewed 41 2. Recreation Activities pursued by the residents . . 45 3. Age of the sample 46 4. Occupation of the sample 46 5. Education of the sample 47 6. Income of the sample 48 7. Importance of water pollution as a community problem related to the boating habits of the respondents . 50 8. Awareness of algae bloom problem on Shuswap Lake related to the boating habits of the respondents . 51 9. Awareness of algae bloom problem on Shuswap Lake related to the fishing habits of the respondents . 52 10,Annual family income related to the boating habits ofthe respondents. 54 1l.Annual family income related to the fishing habits of the respondents 55 12.Algae as an indicator of water pollution related to the swimming habits of the respondents 56 13.Algae as an indicator of water pollution related to the boating habits of the respondents 57 14,Importance of water pollution as a community pro- blem related to attendance at public meetings. 58 15,Importance of water pollution as a community problem related to the effectiveness of public meetings as an information source 60 16.Belief in an algae bloom problem on Shuswap Lake related to qembership in an interest group 61 17.Importance of water pollution as a community problem related to the effectiveness of friends as an information source. 62 18,Algae as an indicator of water pollution related to the effectiveness of public meetings as an inform- ation source. 63 19,Algae as an indidator of water pollution related to active membership in an interest group. 64 vii TABLE - PAGE 20.Importance of industry as a source of water pollu- tion related to the effectiveness of public meet- ings as an information source. 65 21,Importance of septic tanks as a source of water pollution related to the effectiveness of public meetings as an information source. 66 22.Membership in an action group related to belief in the efficacy of such activity 67 23.Attendance at public meetings related to belief in the efficacy of such activity 67 24.Mernbership of an interest group related to agree- ment with the statement "To control pollution on Shuswap would be too expensive to be worthwhile." 68 25. Membership in an interest group related to the boating habits of the residents 69 26,Membership in an interest group related to the fishing habits of the residents 69 27.Agreement with the statement "To control pollution on Shuswap would be too expensive to be worthwhilett related to the boating habits of the residents . 70 28.Agreement with the statement I1To control pollution on Shuswap Lake would be too expensive to be worth- whilew related to the fishing habits of the residents 71 29.0pinions concerning the seriousness of water pollu- ti0ninB.C. 73 30.0pinion concerning Shuswap Lake water quality . . 73 31.0pinion concerning future Shuswap Lake water quality. 73 32,The importance of industry as a source of water pollution in the Shuswap Lake area 74 33,The importance of septic tanks as a source of water pollution in the Shusmap Lake area. 74 34.Agreement with the statement ItTo control pollution on Shuswap Lake would be too expensive to be worth- whileOtt. 75 35.Mernbership in an interest group 76 viii TABLE - 36,Attendance at public meetings. 37.Belief in the efficacy of interest ship. group member- 38,Belief in the efficacy of attending public meetings. 39.0pinions concerning the possibility of uniting the sewage treatment facilities of the Village and the Municipality. PAGE 76 76 76 77 [...]... THE STUDY AREA The a r e a w i t h which t h i s s t u d y i s concerned c e n t r e s around t h e s o u t h e r n arm o f Shuswap Lake i n t h e I n t e r i o r o f B r i t i s h Columbia ( s e e Nap 1) The l a k e i s l o c a t e d t o t h e n o r t h of t h e Okanagan Valley and i s d r a i n e d by t h e Thompson R i v e r which j o i n s t h e F r a s e r R i v e r a t Lytton Including Xara Lake. .. Resources, Environment, San Francisco, Freeman, 1970 ; Watt, K.E.F., Ecol and Resource Mana~ement, Nw York, McGraw-Hill, 19 e Lacey, M.J., "Man, Nature and t h e Ecological Perspect i n American S t u d i e s , Vol 8 , 1970, pp 1-3, 13-27 ' OTRiordan, T , "The Third American Conservation Movement : N w I m p l i c a t i o n s f o r P u b l i c P o l i c y , i n Journal e o f American S t u d i e s , Vol... g , l i v i n g and non-living, elements i n a p a r t i c u l a r h a b i t a t For example see: Bates M , Man i n Nature, Englewood C l i f f s , N J Prentice-Hall 1964; The F o r e s t and t h e Sea, Nw York, Random House, 19b0; e Commoner, B., Science and S u r v i v a l , Nw York, Viking e P r e s s , 1966 ; The Closing C i r c l e , New York, Knopf, 1971; E h r l i c h , P R , and A H , Population,... Q u a l i t y and Lake E u t r o p h i c a t i o n : The Leks Washin t o n Casen, i n Campbell, T.H., and R.O Sylvester (eds Water Resource Manapement and P u b l i c Polic S e a t t l e , U n i v e r s i t y o f Washington P r e s s , 1968, 7, d4-178 54 Committee on P o l l u t i o n , Waste Management and C o n t r o l , Academy of S c i e n c e s , National Research Council, Washingtdn, D.C., 1966,... behaving "according l6 t o moral norms r a t h e r t h a n economic expedienceen It would appear, t h e r e f o r e , t h a t an understanding o f t h e l e v e l o f awareness o f t h e i n d i v i d u a l i s important when t e s t i n g t h e degree of concern over environmental q u a l i t y i s s u e s l5 nAwarenessw h a s been defined a s e s t a t e o f being knowledgeable about n something... r a t Lytton Including Xara Lake and L i t t l e Shuswap Lake, Shuswap Lake c o v e r s an a r e a o f 84,000 a c r e s and t h e w a t e r l e v e l f l u c t u a t e s on ' a v e r age about 16.8' p e a , t h i s being due t o a normally heavy s p r i n g melt The watershed c o v e r s approximately 6,060 square m i l e s , c o n t r i b u t i n g t o a n average annual o u t f l o w a t Chase o... group and a t t e n d ance a t p u b l i c meetings can e x e r t i n f l u e n c e i n t h e l o c a l poli t i c a l forum towards c o n t r o l l i n g such problems ENVIROIWENTAL QUALITY AS A POLITICAL ISSUE The p o l i t i c a l decision-making p r o c e s s i n r e s o u r c e manageinent h a s r e c e i v e d a c o n s i d e r a b l e amount o f a t t e n t i o n : 38 , 37 See Kat z , E "The two-step... aware t h a t some kind o f c l o s e r e l a t i o n s h i p e x i s t s J a r r e t t , H e , (edJ , Environmental Q u a l i t y i n a grow in^ , Economy, John Hopkins P r e s s , Baltimore, 1966, Introduction White, G.F., A l t e r n a t i v e s i n Water Management, National Academy o f Sciences, National Research Council, Washington, D C , 1966, p 6 between man and n a t u r e and have never ceased... i n g s ( l i k e s and d i s l i k e s , f o r example) a r e i n f l u e n c e d 24 Sonnenfeld , J , "Geography, P e r c e p t i o n , and t h e Behavioral Environmentn, a paper p r e s e n t e d a t t h e Dallas ' A.A.A.S., December 1968, i n a symposium on "The Use o f Space by Animals and Man." 2 5 S p r o u t , H and M , The E c o l o g i c a l P e r s p e c t i v e on Human A f f a i r s , P... o f the attitude The d e f i n i t i v e boundaries between opinion and a t t i t u d e , and perception and a t t i t u d e would seem, t h e r e f o r e , t o be most i n d i s t i n c t O f g r e a t e r importance, perhaps, i s t h e need t o b e t t e r understand t h e l i n k between t h e v e r b a l exp r e s s i o n of c o n c e r n / o p i n i o n s / a t t i t u d e s and o v e r t behaviour . of Thesis r James Alistair McVey Master of Arts An Investigation into Attitudes Towards Water Pollution in the Shuswap Lake Area of British Columbia. future Shuswap Lake water quality. 73 32 ,The importance of industry as a source of water pollution in the Shuswap Lake area 74 33 ,The importance