Nutrient runoff from agricultural production is a major cause of pollution in the Mississippi River Basin and contributes to hypoxia -- limited oxygen to support sea life in the Gulf of Mexico. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) set up action plans to reduce pollution in 12 midwestern states and reduce transmissions of nitrate-nitrogen and phosphorus by 45% in 2040.
 
Illinois agencies have established the Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy (INLRS) to address those issues, relying on voluntary efforts as well as policy measures such as state subsidies. Understanding the level of support from local residents can help inform nutrient reduction initiatives.
 
"We know water quality is important and water pollution has costs in terms of both health and economic damages," says Bryan Parthum, lead author on the paper. Parthum was a graduate student in the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics at U of I when the study was conducted; he now works as an economist in the EPA Office of Policy.
 
"We wanted to find out how much people care about local water quality, fish populations, and algal blooms, and how much they care about meeting EPA targets which benefit the Gulf of Mexico," Parthum explains.
 
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