Water Science Opinion Survey:
What will be the world's biggest
water problem in the future
This table is a summary of all the responses to the questionnaire, by state for the U.S., and worldwide by continent/area. As of today there have been 116,412 responses to this questionnaire.
| State | We will not have enough water | Water will be too polluted | Drinking water will be unsafe | Water systems will break down | There won't be major water problems | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska | 244 (42%) | 135 (23%) | 79 (14%) | 36 (6%) | 87 (15%) | 581 |
| Alabama | 953 (29%) | 1,215 (36%) | 427 (13%) | 194 (6%) | 541 (16%) | 3,330 |
| Arkansas | 187 (27%) | 254 (37%) | 103 (15%) | 62 (9%) | 83 (12%) | 689 |
| Arizona | 982 (50%) | 472 (24%) | 258 (13%) | 116 (6%) | 149 (8%) | 1,977 |
| California | 3,129 (44%) | 2,260 (32%) | 796 (11%) | 480 (7%) | 420 (6%) | 7,085 |
| Colorado | 1,594 (33%) | 1,345 (28%) | 539 (11%) | 188 (4%) | 1,136 (24%) | 4,802 |
| Connecticut | 580 (24%) | 1,159 (48%) | 381 (16%) | 119 (5%) | 153 (6%) | 2,392 |
| D. C. | 55 (34%) | 54 (34%) | 22 (14%) | 15 (9%) | 15 (9%) | 161 |
| Delaware | 71 (7%) | 96 (9%) | 765 (71%) | 128 (12%) | 16 (1%) | 1,076 |
| Florida | 1,203 (29%) | 1,850 (45%) | 611 (15%) | 224 (5%) | 263 (6%) | 4,151 |
| Georgia | 1,298 (27%) | 2,026 (43%) | 712 (15%) | 303 (6%) | 385 (8%) | 4,724 |
| Hawaii | 208 (43%) | 146 (30%) | 60 (12%) | 27 (6%) | 45 (9%) | 486 |
| Iowa | 270 (20%) | 576 (42%) | 198 (14%) | 74 (5%) | 248 (18%) | 1,366 |
| Idaho | 419 (26%) | 741 (46%) | 229 (14%) | 94 (6%) | 133 (8%) | 1,616 |
| Illinois | 767 (27%) | 1,230 (43%) | 374 (13%) | 186 (7%) | 302 (11%) | 2,859 |
| Indiana | 462 (25%) | 798 (43%) | 276 (15%) | 124 (7%) | 180 (10%) | 1,840 |
| Kansas | 243 (30%) | 323 (40%) | 119 (15%) | 65 (8%) | 55 (7%) | 805 |
| Kentucky | 195 (18%) | 509 (48%) | 153 (14%) | 77 (7%) | 133 (12%) | 1,067 |
| Louisiana | 225 (22%) | 442 (43%) | 180 (18%) | 50 (5%) | 120 (12%) | 1,017 |
| Massachusetts | 544 (27%) | 849 (42%) | 316 (16%) | 157 (8%) | 167 (8%) | 2,033 |
| Maryland | 375 (29%) | 541 (42%) | 185 (14%) | 113 (9%) | 85 (7%) | 1,299 |
| Maine | 149 (21%) | 334 (47%) | 88 (12%) | 47 (7%) | 88 (12%) | 706 |
| Michigan | 1,657 (22%) | 3,366 (44%) | 1,467 (19%) | 429 (6%) | 676 (9%) | 7,595 |
| Minnesota | 546 (21%) | 1,313 (50%) | 404 (15%) | 128 (5%) | 250 (9%) | 2,641 |
| Missouri | 200 (26%) | 324 (42%) | 118 (15%) | 56 (7%) | 75 (10%) | 773 |
| Mississippi | 106 (21%) | 219 (44%) | 73 (15%) | 41 (8%) | 58 (12%) | 497 |
| Montana | 76 (23%) | 120 (36%) | 51 (15%) | 19 (6%) | 64 (19%) | 330 |
| North Carolina | 1,335 (26%) | 2,433 (47%) | 822 (16%) | 257 (5%) | 334 (6%) | 5,181 |
| North Dakota | 59 (25%) | 85 (37%) | 30 (13%) | 17 (7%) | 41 (18%) | 232 |
| Nebraska | 179 (32%) | 184 (33%) | 115 (21%) | 33 (6%) | 48 (9%) | 559 |
| New Hampshire | 121 (26%) | 170 (37%) | 74 (16%) | 18 (4%) | 74 (16%) | 457 |
| New Jersey | 635 (24%) | 1,286 (48%) | 393 (15%) | 191 (7%) | 157 (6%) | 2,662 |
| New Mexico | 328 (50%) | 171 (26%) | 72 (11%) | 36 (5%) | 53 (8%) | 660 |
| Nevada | 439 (43%) | 326 (32%) | 90 (9%) | 102 (10%) | 65 (6%) | 1,022 |
| New York | 603 (25%) | 1,099 (45%) | 361 (15%) | 187 (8%) | 204 (8%) | 2,454 |
| Ohio | 849 (20%) | 2,147 (50%) | 648 (15%) | 254 (6%) | 384 (9%) | 4,282 |
| Oklahoma | 210 (22%) | 326 (35%) | 137 (15%) | 113 (12%) | 149 (16%) | 935 |
| Oregon | 807 (57%) | 285 (20%) | 115 (8%) | 64 (5%) | 144 (10%) | 1,415 |
| Pennsylvania | 989 (24%) | 1,777 (44%) | 680 (17%) | 283 (7%) | 353 (9%) | 4,082 |
| Puerto Rico/V.I. | 63 (18%) | 75 (22%) | 20 (6%) | 19 (6%) | 166 (48%) | 343 |
| Rhode Island | 85 (34%) | 81 (33%) | 33 (13%) | 25 (10%) | 23 (9%) | 247 |
| South Carolina | 201 (16%) | 633 (50%) | 242 (19%) | 103 (8%) | 94 (7%) | 1,273 |
| South Dakota | 167 (22%) | 331 (44%) | 111 (15%) | 46 (6%) | 92 (12%) | 747 |
| Tennessee | 156 (21%) | 332 (44%) | 117 (16%) | 53 (7%) | 93 (12%) | 751 |
| Texas | 1,584 (30%) | 2,227 (42%) | 620 (12%) | 336 (6%) | 518 (10%) | 5,285 |
| Utah | 845 (56%) | 360 (24%) | 125 (8%) | 41 (3%) | 127 (8%) | 1,498 |
| Virginia | 1,157 (21%) | 2,697 (50%) | 787 (15%) | 301 (6%) | 441 (8%) | 5,383 |
| Vermont | 65 (15%) | 272 (62%) | 32 (7%) | 22 (5%) | 45 (10%) | 436 |
| Washington | 551 (30%) | 742 (41%) | 231 (13%) | 127 (7%) | 167 (9%) | 1,818 |
| Wisconsin | 551 (26%) | 744 (35%) | 314 (15%) | 124 (6%) | 376 (18%) | 2,109 |
| West Virginia | 279 (28%) | 409 (41%) | 171 (17%) | 37 (4%) | 91 (9%) | 987 |
| Wyoming | 97 (20%) | 63 (13%) | 234 (49%) | 39 (8%) | 48 (10%) | 481 |
| Total | 29,093 (28%) | 41,952 (41%) | 15,558 (15%) | 6,380 (6%) | 10,214 (10%) | 103,197 |
| Continent/area | We will not have enough water | Water will be too polluted | Drinking water will be unsafe | Water systems will break down | There won't be major water problems | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Africa | 157 (36%) | 105 (24%) | 51 (12%) | 57 (13%) | 64 (15%) | 434 |
| Asia | 680 (34%) | 716 (36%) | 254 (13%) | 174 (9%) | 170 (9%) | 1,994 |
| Australia/N.Z./P | 3,175 (82%) | 361 (9%) | 131 (3%) | 79 (2%) | 130 (3%) | 3,876 |
| Canada | 1,097 (33%) | 1,146 (35%) | 462 (14%) | 120 (4%) | 474 (14%) | 3,299 |
| Central America | 131 (33%) | 145 (36%) | 37 (9%) | 19 (5%) | 70 (17%) | 402 |
| South America | 661 (40%) | 509 (31%) | 247 (15%) | 97 (6%) | 126 (8%) | 1,640 |
| Europe | 89 (24%) | 71 (19%) | 52 (14%) | 84 (22%) | 79 (21%) | 375 |
| Far East | 331 (57%) | 126 (22%) | 60 (10%) | 18 (3%) | 48 (8%) | 583 |
| Middle East | 237 (39%) | 143 (23%) | 116 (19%) | 41 (7%) | 75 (12%) | 612 |
| Total | 6,558 (50%) | 3,322 (25%) | 1,410 (11%) | 689 (5%) | 1,236 (9%) | 13,215 |
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