Description
Book SynopsisThe authors of this in-depth study describe the theory and techniques that can be applied to the specific case of valuing potable water provided by groundwater supplies. The theory and techniques can be extended to valuing drinking water provided by surface water supplies, and also to valuing alternative levels of water quality.
The theory and case studies discussed in the book suggest that important determinants of the economic value of water quality include: the probability of contamination measured objectively and subjectively, information on actual levels of contamination in household water supplies, socioeconomic characteristics of households, and the extent to which the values of water quality people hold include non-use components. The case study results also suggest that empirical valuation results are sensitive to study design effects such as the particular statistical technique used to estimate mean or median values. These results suggest that estimating water quality values using benefits transfer techniques is problematic, but perhaps feasible with improved data and valuation models.
Government agencies, private consulting firms and NGOs involved in water quality policy as well as academic researchers, professors and students will find this volume of theory, application and technique an invaluable reference.
Trade Review'. . . the book is of immediate policy significance. Those developing ground water management strategies in the USA will find the value estimates useful.' -- Jeff Bennett, Australian Journal of Environmental Management
Table of ContentsContents: Preface 1. Economic Value of Water Quality: Introduction and Conceptual Background 2. Determinants of Ground Water Quality Values: Georgia and Maine Case Studies 3. Information and the Valuation of Nitrates in Ground Water, Portage County, Wisconsin 4. Measuring the Value of Protecting Ground Water Quality from Nitrate Contamination in Southeastern Pennsylvania 5. Ground Water, Surface Water, and Wetlands Valuation in Ohio 6. Assessing the Accuracy of Benefits Transfers: Evidence From a Multi-Site Contingent Valuation Study of Ground Water Quality 7. Benefits Transfer: The Case of Nitrate Contamination in Pennsylvania, Georgia and Maine 8. A Preliminary Meta Analysis of Contingent Values for Ground Water Quality Revisited 9. Summary and Conclusions Index
