Convergence and Divergence in Water Related Values Between Decision Makers and Their Constituents

In 2012 the Decision Center for a Desert City at Arizona State University conducted a survey of decision makers who impact water resources in the metropolitan Phoenix area.  The goal of the survey was to better understand what decision makers want from the future of water resources in the region.  Decision makers represented four prominent groups: water management, urban interests, agricultural interests, and environmental interests.  Preliminary results indicate shared values across groups related to the need for regulation of urban water uses, and divergence related to the future role of agriculture.  However, it remains unclear whether decision makers for these interest groups truly represent their constituencies.  This survey measures the convergence and divergence in water-related values between decision makers and their constituencies across a range of plausible futures for the water system.  In preparation for a broad public survey, this pilot survey gathers data on the water-related values of more than 100 ASU undergraduate students and compares them to the results of the decision-maker survey.  The poster reports results on convergence and divergence of values in from the pilot survey and future plans for the public survey.