factors affecting adoption of stormwater management practices by homeowners - shin

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Adoption of Stormwater Management Practices by Homeowners: Rain Gardens and Rain Barrels Dong Won Shin Laura M. McCann University of Missouri

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Page 1: Factors Affecting Adoption of Stormwater Management Practices by Homeowners - Shin

Adoption of Stormwater Management Practices by Homeowners:

Rain Gardens and Rain Barrels

Dong Won ShinLaura M. McCann

University of Missouri

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Introduction• Urban runoff problems are due to:

– runoff of fertilizers, pesticides, and soil erosion – increased impervious surfaces – climate change increasing likelihood of extreme events

(flash flood and extreme drought)

severe problems in Hinkson Creek Watershed– Larger and more frequent floods and lower base flow– A degradation of habitat for aquatic organisms. – Adoption of best management practices can help

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Hinkson Creek Watershed

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Stormwater Management Practices

Rain garden

– A man-made depression that uses plants to filter and infiltrate stormwater

– improves water quality in nearby waterways

– recharges groundwater

Source : https://www.gocolumbiamo.com/PublicWorks/StormWater

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Stormwater Management Practices

Rain barrel– Device designed to collect

stormwater runoff from roofs

– Can be used to water a garden or lawn

– Reduces flooding in yards – Decreases the volume of

stormwater runoff.

Source : http://rainbarrelprogram.org/como

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Previous Research

• Household demographics – Positive effects (+)

• Higher household income level (Brehm et al. 2013; Ando & Freitas 2011)

– Negative effects (-)• Living closer to city (Sovocool et al. 2005)

– Mixed effects (+/-)• Age and education (Brehm et al. 2013; Ando & Freitas 2011)

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Previous Research (cont.)• Yard management behavior

– Positive effects (+)• More time spent maintaining lawn (Martin et al. 2003)• Never water lawn/ water less (Scheiber and Beeson 2006)

• Attitude toward environment and social context– Positive effects (+)

• Positive attitudes towards the environment (Anto & Freitas, 2011)• Neighbor’s use of the practices (Blaine et al., 2012)• Trust local watershed group/project (Lockett et al. 2002)• Perception of climate change (Martin et al. 2003)

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Previous Research (cont.)• Perception of Practices

– Positive effects (+)• Knowledge about specific practices are the main factors

(Martini & Nelson 2014; Brehm et al. 2013)• Convenience (Ando & Freitas 2011)• Benefit observability (Reimer et al 2012)

– Negative effects (-)• Concern about appearance (Blain et al. 2012; Robins et al. 2001)• Cost/ Physical limit/ Lack of equipment (Rogers 2003)• Risk such as basement water problems (Cary et al. 2001)

– Mixed effects (+/-)• Time consuming to install (Shaw et al. 2011)

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Research Purpose• Motivation

– Adoption of conservation practices (BMPs) is relatively low (rain gardens, 2.5% and rain barrels 7.6% in Chesapeake Bay, MD)

Find the factors affecting the adoption of two stormwater management practices, rain gardens and rain barrels

– investigate the effect on adoption of time spent on yard work and perceptions about specific practices

– analyze the factors affecting the adoption of both rain gardens and rain barrels, which have different attributes

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Method• A mail survey was conducted in Columbia, Missouri in

spring of 2014 using the Dillman methodology.

• Before conducting the survey, we pretested the survey with focus groups (n=19)

• Pre-notice and reminder postcards were sent in addition two mailings of the survey packet.

• 783 respondents from a random sample (an effective response rate of 44%)

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Summary Statistics

• Only 3.1% and 7.5% of respondents are using rain gardens and rain barrels, respectively

• Most respondents are over 45 years old (67%) and living in the City of Columbia (62%)

• 83% of respondents agree that protecting water quality is more important than economic development

• Almost half of respondents (54%) are spending more than 10 hours for gardening or lawn care in a month

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Summary Statistics (cont.)

• Respondents more concerned about severe drought (76%) than intense rain (36%)

• For both practices, most respondents (83%) believe that rain gardens and rain barrels are beneficial to water quality

• Including perceptions of practices’ characteristics in the model shows improvements in explanatory power – the pseudo R2 increases from 0.21 to 0.47 for rain gardens and

from 0.15 to 0.39 for rain barrels

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Results-Bivariate Probit AnalysisVariables Rain Garden Rain Barrel

Personal Characteristics Coef. Coef.

Household Income (Base: $25,000 - $49,999)$0 - $25,000 1.32 0.04$50,000 - $74,999 1.10 -0.18$75,000 - $99,999 -1.26 -0.20$ 100,000 + -0.18 0.16

Age (Base: 46-60 yrs)18-30 yrs -0.37 0.2431-45 yrs -0.76 0.68**61 yrs + 0.76 0.34

Male -0.14 0.02

Where you live ( Base: Urban area)Suburban area -0.51 0.03Rural area -0.72 0.48*

*p<0.10,**p<0.05,***p<0.01

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Results-Bivariate Probit Analysis (cont.)

Variables Rain Garden Rain Barrels Yard Management Behavior Coef. Coef.

Hours spent on gardening/lawn (Base: less than 10 hrs)

More than 10 hrs 1.45*** 0.38*

Watering habits (Base: infrequently)As needed 1.77 ** -0.06

Never -1.45 * 0.09

Professional Lawn Care Service Use -0.14 -0.31*p<0.10,**p<0.05,***p<0.01

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Results

1. Users of rain barrels seem to be young, serious gardeners

2. Respondents who spend more time on yard work are significantly more likely to adopt rain gardens and rain barrels

3. Those who water their yard frequently are more likely to adopt rain gardens

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Results-Bivariate Probit Analysis (cont.)Variables Rain Garden Rain Barrels

Attitudes for Environment, Social context, Climate change Coef.

Knowledge of Watershed -0.08 0.47 *Protecting water quality (Base: disagree)

Neither -0.62 -0.72Agree -0.10 -0.07

Trust of environmental group (Base: moderately trust)Not trust -0.15 -0.29Slightly trust -1.04 -0.26Very much trust 1.15 * 0.42

Concern about intense rain (Base: disagree)Neither -0.63 -0.08Agree -0.09 -0.47

Concern about severe drought (Base: disagree)Neither 0.14 0.49Agree -0.19 0.84 *

Concern about neighbors opinion about lawn (Base: disagree)Neither 0.47 0.09Agree -0.66 -0.03

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Results (cont.)4. Those who trust environmental groups for

information are more likely to adopt a rain garden.

5. While those who are well-informed about watershed and concerned about drought are more likely to adopt rain barrels.

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Results-Bivariate Probit Analysis (cont.)

Variables Rain Garden Rain Barrel

Perceptions of Limitations to Adoption of Practices Coef. Coef.

Knowledge of Installing -1.45 ** -0.95 *

Time required -0.17 -1.1 **

Cost required 1.00 -0.20

Physical limitation -1.29 0.56

Concerns about appearance -0.22 -1.13 *

Compatibility of other features -1.34 ** -0.9 **

Lack of equipment -0.29 -1.19 ***

Doubt the benefits 0.33

Not being able to see a demonstration -2.28 ** -0.58

Concerns about water problem in basement 1.84 *** 0.62

Constant -2.29 -1.97 ****p<0.10,**p<0.05,***p<0.01

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Results (cont.)6. Knowledge about how to install the practices and compatibility with the features of their property are significant limitations to adoption of both practices.

7. For rain gardens, respondents are less likely to adopt if they are not able to see a demonstration of the practice beforehand. If they are concerned about water problems in their basement, they are more likely to adopt.

8. For rain barrels, those who agreed that a lack of equipment, being time consuming, and concerns about appearance were barriers, were less likely to adopt.

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Implications

• Serious gardeners (who spent more than 10 hours per month on yardwork) are more likely to be receptive to educational programs about stormwater management practices.

• Water management issues (as evidenced by the watering, drought, and basement results) can be important on-site reasons to adopt these practices

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Implications (cont.)

• Before making a decision, a visible demonstration of rain gardens in the area may increase adoption

• Designing more attractive rain barrels may increase adoption of this practice

• Including practice-specific barriers in adoption studies can increase the explanatory power of the models and improve the design of practices and educational efforts.

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Acknowledgements

• This project was supported by National Integrated Water Quality Grant Program number 110.C (Award 2012-03652).

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Thank You

Dong Won ShinAgricultural and Applied EconomicsUniversity of [email protected]