Population of different social strata and its preferences in urban stormwater management

Abstract Many Brazilian municipalities have specific legislation focused on the management of urban stormwater with the main purpose runoff control. Among the promoted measures are the mandatory implementation of different devices that operate storing or infiltrating the runoff, compensating its impact. This practice is known as compensatory technique (CT). Given the different possible CT that can be chosen, this article presents the main preferences and perceptions of the population in three different socioeconomic groups. The study was accomplished in the city of Santa Maria / RS, that as other municipalities of medium size, should also adopt some sort of public policy towards the stormwater management. A total of 518 households were surveyed in representative districts of the upper lower class, upper middle class and lower middle class, who have the same guideline for land use. The results revealed important aspects regarding the understanding of the public to the management of rainwater in urban areas, and showed that the preference between storage or infiltration may be influenced by socioeconomic status. In addition, the survey was able to identify that more than 90% of households have already knowledge about this type of public policy.