Valuing Ground Water Economic Concepts and Approaches (1997) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
Summary
Summary
Pages 1-12
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 1... ...
has been perceived as not properly valuing ground water. The report neglects the uniqueness of the ground water resource and the often irreversible nature of ground water depletion and pollution, implying that declines in ground water quality and quantity need not be mayor concerns.
|
From page 2... ...
Key points addressed include the minimal historical attention given to ground water valuation in general, and specific methods that can be used to perform such valuation studies. Until the last few decades, attention, even in natural resource and environmental economics, has been given primarily to the effects of exploiting natural resource assets such as extractive minerals, land and timber, ocean fisheries, and surface water resources.
|
From page 3... ...
GROUND WATER RESOURCES: HYDROLOGY, ECOLOGY, AND ECONOMICS Valuation of the extractive and in situ services of ground water requires an understanding of the hydrology and ecology of the ground water source. Hydrologic information includes numerous factors such as rainfall, runoff, infiltration, and water balance data; depth to ground water; whether the water-bearing zone is confined or unconfined; ground water flow rates and direction; and type of vadose and water-bearing zone materials.
|
From page 4... ...
While the valuation of a given ground water resource may be complex, several simple principles may be applied to almost any valuation problem: · Because ground water resources are finite, decision-makers should take a long-term view in all decisions regarding valuation and use of these resources, proceeding very cautiously with any actions that would lead to an irreversible situation regarding ground water use and management. Ground water depletion, for instance, is often irreversible.
|
From page 5... ...
· Ground water management entities should consider appropriate policies such as pump taxes or quotas to ensure that the cost of using the water now rather than later is accurately accounted for by competing pumpers. VALUATION FRAMEWORK One of the major challenges in valuing ground water is how to integrate the hydrologic and physical components of ground water resources into a valuation scheme.
|
From page 6... ...
The critical distinction for decision-making is between goods and services whose economic values are fully captured in market prices and those whose value is not thus captured. Applicability of Valuation Methods One prominent technique that attempts to measure total value, including use and nonuse values, is the contingent valuation method (CVM)
|
From page 7... ...
CVM practitioners believe that it is the only method capable of capturing a substantial part of value when nonuse value is a large part of the TEV. However, the continuing controversy over both the theoretical validity and the practicality of CVM-based studies of nonuse values raises questions regarding its use in natural resource damage assessments and litigation situations.
|
From page 8... ...
· Previous ground water valuation studies have focused primarily on a small part of the known ground water functions and services (identified in Chapter 3~. Thus, the current empirical knowledge of the values of ground water is quite limited and concentrated in a few areas, such as extractive values related to drinking water use.
|
From page 9... ...
· If data are available and critical assumptions are accurate, traditional valuation methods such as cost of illness, demand analysis, and production cost can be used for many ground water management decisions that involve use values. Such methods offer defensible estimates of what are likely to be the major benefits of ground water services.
|
From page 10... ...
and quality via numerical standards or descriptive criteria. These multiple laws and regulatory agency overlaps can create conflicts regarding ground water usage, quality protection, and/or remediation responsibility.
|
From page 11... ...
Historical ground water allocation schemes and water rights laws are examples, as is the concern over human health effects and their immediate reduction in the near-term requirements of the Superfund laws. These institutional considerations suggest several areas of governmental action: · Federal, state, and local agencies should give consideration to the TEV of ground water in their deliberations on new or amended legislation or regulations related to ground water management.
|
From page 12... ...
Among other things, they show that TEV provides a useful context for the qualitative recognition and/or quantitative valuation of ground water services. At the same time, each study is unique, thus limiting opportunities for subsequent benefits transfer analysis; and highlighting the technical, economic, institutional, and political uncertainties characterize the current state-ofthe-art of ground water valuation.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.