WASHINGTON, D.C. — A majority of Americans, 55%, express “a great deal” of worry about the pollution of drinking water in the U.S., which remains their top environmental concern of six problems tested. Half of U.S. adults express the same degree of worry about the pollution of rivers, lakes and reservoirs.

Although roughly four in 10 Americans worry a great deal about the other four issues tested — extinction of plant and animal species, the loss of tropical rain forests, global warming or climate change, and air pollution — majorities say they worry at least “a fair amount” about each.

Gallup has tracked worry about each of these problems annually since 2000, except for 2005, with concern about water pollution consistently ranking at the top of the list of environmental issues. The latest findings, from a March 1-23 poll, show modest declines in worry since last year for most of the problems.

The percentages of Americans expressing a great deal of worry about air pollution and the loss of tropical rain forests have each fallen seven points since 2022, while […]