Beyond “Us and Them”: Why Do Landowners Disagree About Local Water Pollution?

Abstract

Collaborative watershed governance (CWG) is one strategy to address nonpoint source water pollution. While many collaborative watershed arrangements unfold in local settings, institutional analyses of CWG often do not consider landowners perceive intracommunity tensions about water pollution. We consider how diverse landowners attribute water pollution to agricultural and residential sources, and how these causal attributions may underpin perceived intracommunity tensions. We use survey data (n = 373) from the Owasco Lake watershed of central New York to examine water quality perceptions, concerns, and beliefs across year-round lakeshore, seasonal lakeshore, off shore residential, and agricultural landowners. Each type of landowner has a unique process through which water pollution causal attributions develop. Perceived intracommunity differences are more pronounced for non-farming landowners who blame agriculture for water pollution. With a better understanding of how landowners perceive the views of one another, watershed managers can tailor local communication efforts to emphasize shared views.