Survey Shows Residents TAPPing into Water Quality
October 22
Tallahassee area residents may have seen humorous TV ads and billboards in recent months that promoted picking up dog waste and properly using fertilizer. The ads, part of the 2009 TAPP - or "Think About Personal Pollution" - campaign were designed to promote education about Tallahassee's water quality and how to protect it. The City of Tallahassee today announced the results of a survey that shows the campaign had an enormous impact on public awareness and behavior.
Waterways throughout the City's jurisdiction are under federal mandate to reach applied water quality standards. Options for addressing nonpoint source (NPS) pollution, also known as personal pollution, are limited and expensive. As a result, the City has chosen to educate residents through the TAPP program in an attempt to reduce such pollution at its source.
"Just as each of us relies on water every day, each of us also contributes to water pollution daily, often without realizing it," said Nancy Miller, TAPP project coordinator. "The ongoing TAPP initiative is, and has always been, to help our residents understand personal pollution sources and encourage preventive solutions."
The 2009 survey results reveal that the TAPP campaign was successful in educating Tallahassee residents on the damaging effects of NPS water pollution and what individuals can do to prevent personal pollution. The results show that 90 percent of those surveyed recognized that personal habits contribute to water pollution, 30 percent of dog owners have begun to pick up their pet waste and that residents' overall use of fertilizer decreased by 14 percent.
The TAPP campaign is funded in part by a Section 319 Nonpoint Source Management Program Implementation grant to the City of Tallahassee from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through an agreement with the Nonpoint Source Management Section of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. In addition, an array of local advertising, public relations and research consultants, as well as media partners, provided extensive free and in-kind matching services, TV airtime and billboard space. Through this public-private partnership, the City of Tallahassee was successful in educating residents of their personal effects on water quality, according to the survey.
"There's no question that utilizing educational outreach aimed toward achieving prevention is significantly less expensive than remediation, or structural solutions, to clean up our waterways to meet federal standards," said Miller.
The 30 percent increase in residents picking up their pets' waste translates to a minimum cost savings of $2.5 million per year to the City and taxpayers. The campaign costs totaled $459,000 per year, including grant funding and in-kind donations. Since acquiring the project just over three years ago, the City's total contribution to the cost of the TAPP program has been $161,858 over three years (the vast majority is staff time implementing the program), approximately 11 percent of the total campaign value. The $2.5 million is the estimated amount that would be required to provide equivalent stormwater pollution treatment methods, as opposed to the $459,000 used to educate residents on their daily pollution habits.
The 2009 media campaign, managed by the City of Tallahassee's Department of Environmental Policy and Energy Resources (EPER) and the Stormwater Management Division, included TV ads and billboards which informed residents on the effects their behaviors can potentially have on the local lakes and streams from stormwater runoff pollution. Audiences are directed to the program's Web site, www.TAPPwater.org, which provides educational materials to help individuals change personal habits to improve Tallahassee's waterways.
"Government cannot solve these problems alone," said Cynthia S. Barber, director of EPER, referring to the Department's commitment to ensuring that Tallahassee's water remains the best in the state. "Properly limiting and containing contaminants, such as pet waste, fertilizers and household chemicals, are practices the entire Tallahassee community can adopt to ensure runoff from their yards is as clean as possible."
"Having clean water is of primary importance for public health and our local economy," said Barber. "Educating the community with pollution-prevention tactics is the best way to preserve water quality and the beauty of the landscape. Simple changes in behavior can have immediate and lasting benefits on our water resources."
"It's never too early for Tallahassee to think about and then act upon personal pollution prevention. The stakes are high. Our water quality is both an economic and an environmental asset," said Miller.
To learn more about the TAPP Program and campaign, please visit www.TAPPwater.org or call 850-224-TAPP (8277).
Contact
Bill Behenna, (850) 891-8534 Bill.Behenna@talgov.com, or Rick Oppenheim, (850) 386-9100 roppenheim@rboa.com
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