Our Survey
What does the public know about locks, dams, and disposition?
Part of our project includes surveying the public to better understand how much people know about locks and dams, if they know about the Corps' disposition studies, and what they want for the future of the Mississippi. Our analysis of these surveys helps us imagine a more inclusive and diverse process that can be developed for future disposition studies.
During our first round of surveying in July 2021, our team set up at different points along the river between Upper Saint Anthony Falls and Lock and Dam 1 to survey members of the public passing by. We also shared the survey online. Our second round of surveying began in June 2022. We surveyed participants on our river tour focus groups.
These survey data are summarized below. The goal has been to gain greater insight on how the Army Corps can better engage the public in future studies and what people envision for the locks and dams and the river itself.
SUMMER 2021 DATA
our findings so far
Over three weeks in July 2021, our research team surveyed seven separate times at seven different locations in the vicinity of Upper St. Anthony Falls and Lock and Dam 1. These included the Wabun Picnic Area, Hidden Falls Regional Park, the Summit Memorial, Minnehaha Dog Park, Minnehaha Regional Park, Crosby Farms Regional Park, and the Stone Arch Bridge. We collected 270 hand-written surveys. We collated and analyzed the data in Excel. Our surveys had 12 multiple choice/short answer questions, one open-ended question, and seven questions regarding demographic information.
Handing out study information at the Summer 2022 Boat Tour (Photo by David Wheaton).
Of the participants, 75.2% responded that they had not heard of this disposition study,16.7% said that they had heard of it, and 8.1% were not sure. The following survey question asked participants where they had heard of the study and multiple individuals wrote in our survey project. It is possible that a larger portion of survey participants than represented in our data heard about the disposition study for the first time when responding to this survey.
Of the 270 participants in this survey, 3.3% had participated in the Army Corps public input process; 0.7% of individuals stated that they went to a public meeting (2 people,) and 2.6% said that they participated through public comments. The percentage of people who took our survey and participated in the Corps' public engagement process does not appear to be representative of the general population. Our survey location near the river may have generated responses that represent a subset of the population who often visit the Mississippi, and therefore are more likely to participate in the Corps study. When measuring the barriers to participating in the Corps' study, 64.2% of participants in this study said that they did not participate because they did not know about the study, 3.0% said the timing of the meetings was a barrier, and 1.5 % said it was because they could not take time off work and 1.5 % cited a lack of childcare.
In response to the Corps' alternatives, 84 commenters oppose full disposition and 17 commenters explicitly favor partial disposition in the 2021 comments. No commenter explicitly favored The Corps' preferred outcome. In the 2021 Public Written Comments, the most frequently mentioned comment topic regarding the locks and dams includes maintenance and public access.
From the data collected in our parallel survey, the majority of participants did not correctly identify the authorized purpose of the locks and dams. Additionally, 165 participants (61.1%) chose Flood Control as a purpose that the locks and dams serve. The second most chosen purpose was Navigation at 114 participants (42.2%). Locks and Dams ranked lower than other factors that impact the river ecosystem; 204 participants chose pollution (75.6%), 171 participants chose Climate Change (63.3%), and 136 participants chose Locks and Dams (50.4%).
SUMMER 2022 DATA
Our findings so far
Of the 268 participants in this survey, 58.8% of people surveyed did not know the Army Corps was completing this study and 41.2% did know about the study. This is an increase in participants who know about the study from 2021, however it is still not yet the majority.
Of these 268 survey participants during the months of June and July of 2022, most participants were very likely to participate in the Army Corps Disposition Study, with 52.9%. The next most answered question was somewhat likely with 40.9%. Finally, very few people answered not likely to participate with 6.2%.
Our Survey display
At each survey location along the Mississippi River we displayed three posters to provide learning on how locks and dams work and comparisons of what a past, present, and potential future river look like.
