Water provides benefits as a commodity for agriculture, industry, and households, and as a public good such as fisheries habitat, water quality and recreational use. To aid in cost-benefit analysis under conditions where market determined price signals are usually unavailable, economists have developed a range of alternative valuation methods for measuring economic benefits. This volume provides the most comprehensive exposition to-date of the application of economic valuation methods to proposed water resources investments and policies. It provides a conceptual framework for valuation of both commodity and public good uses of water, addressing non-market valuation techniques appropriate to measuring public benefits - including water quality improvement, recreation, and fish habitat enhancement. The book describes the various measurement methods, illustrates how they are applied in practice, and discusses their strengths, limitations, and appropriate roles. In this second edition, all chapters have been thoroughly updated, and in particular the coverage of water markets and valuation of ecosystem services from water has been expanded. Robert Young, author of the 2005 edition, has been joined for this new edition by John Loomis, who brings additional expertise on ecosystem services and the environmental economics of water for recreational and other public good uses of water.

Because water in the United State has not been traded in markets, there is no meaningful estimate of what it would cost if it were traded. But failing to establish ground water's valueâ€"for in situ uses such as sustaining wetlands as well as for extractive uses such as agricultureâ€"will lead to continued overuse and degradation of the nation's aquifers. In Valuing Ground Water an interdisciplinary committee integrates the latest economic, legal, and physical knowledge about ground water and methods for valuing this resource, making it comprehensible to decision-makers involved in Superfund cleanup efforts, local wellhead protection programs, water allocation, and other water-related management issues. Using the concept of total economic value, this volume provides a framework for calculating the economic value of ground water and evaluating tradeoffs between competing uses of it. Included are seven case studies where ground-water valuation has been or could be used in decisionmaking. The committee examines trends in ground-water management, factors that contribute to its value, and issues surrounding ground-water allocation and legal rights to its use. The book discusses economic valuation of natural resources and reviews several valuation methods. Presenting conclusions, recommendations, and research priorities, Valuing Ground Water will be of interest to those concerned about ground-water issues: policymakers, regulators, economists, attorneys, researchers, resource managers, and environmental advocates.

Gibbons examines the water supply problem through five case studies. The problems faced by these regions and the methods suggested to overcome them provide excellent models for the entire United States. The case studies---typically, expanding supplies---but economic efficiency principles lead to emphasizing managing the demand. In many cases, this means reducing demand by raising prices.

This book presents the results of an analytical study on the economic valuation for wastewater, comparing the cost of no action versus the cost of effective wastewater management. One of the Millennium Development Goals adopted by the United Nations was to reduce by half the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water and improved sanitation by 2015. Further, at the Rio+20 Summit in June 2012, governments recognised the need to adopt measures to significantly reduce water pollution, increase water quality and significantly improve wastewater treatment which is now reflected in the Sustainable Development Goals. To achieve these objectives, substantial investment in sanitation including septage and sewage management is required, in particular in developing countries. A financial analysis of wastewater management looks at its private costs and benefits and can underpin decision making from a business or treatment plant operator standpoint. Economic analysis looks at the broader costs and benefits for society, providing information for public policy decisions to support improvements in wastewater management. Adequate wastewater collection, treatment, and safe use or disposal can lead to significant environmental and health benefits. However, because some of these benefits do not have a market price, they have not traditionally been considered in the financial analysis of wastewater treatment projects, therefore underestimating total benefits.

Water, already a scarce resource, is treated as though it were plentiful and free. The task of supplying enough water of the required quality to growing populations is straining authorities and governments to the limit as the economic and environmental costs of new supply sources escalate and wasteful supply, delivery and consumption systems persist. Managing Water as an Economic Resource argues that the root of the crisis is the failure of suppliers and consumers to treat water as a scarce commodity with an economic value. James Winpenny evaluates policies for the improved management of existing demand, and draws on case studies from different countries as he discusses how policies could be implemented to treat water as an economic good conferring major economic, financial and environmental benefits.

Water is being transferred out of agriculture to meet the growing demand in other areas, often without an agreement of or compensation to farmers with irrigated land and water rights. Furthermore, there is a failure to recognize that irrigation systems supply water not only for the main fields, but also for domestic uses, home gardens, trees and other permanent vegetation, and livestock. Other productive uses include fishing, harvesting of aquatic plants and animals, and a variety of other enterprises such as brick making. In addition, irrigation systems can have a positive or negative effect on wildlife habitats. Thus, the withdrawal of water affects the rural household, rural economy, and the environment in a number of ways. This paper argues that to ensure efficient, equitable, and sustainable water use, to reduce poverty and improve the well-being of the community, irrigation and water resources policies need to take into account all uses and users of water within the irrigation system. The multiple uses of water in the Kirindi Oya irrigation system are examined in this paper. An interdisciplinary group of scientists have investigated a number of areas including water accounting, water quality, household water use, the valuing of water for alternative uses, and the complementarities, competition, and conflicts among uses and users.

Uncharted Waters: The New Economics of Water Scarcity

The United Nations World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) is hosted and led by UNESCO. WWAP brings together the work of 31 UN-Water Members as well as 37 Partners to publish the United Nations World Water Development Report (WWDR) series. Under the theme Water for Sustainable Development, the WWDR 2015 has been prepared as a contribution from UN-Water to the discussions surrounding the post-2015 framework for global sustainable development. Highlighting water's unique and often complex role in achieving various sustainable development objectives, the WWDR 2015 is addressed to policy- and decision-makers inside and outside the water community, as well as to anyone with an interest in freshwater and its many life-giving benefits. The report sets an aspirational yet achievable vision for the future of water towards 2050 by describing how water supports healthy and prosperous human communities, maintains well functioning ecosystems and ecological services, and provides a cornerstone for short and long-term economic development. It provides an overview of the challenges, issues and trends in terms of water resources, their use and water-related services like water supply and sanitation. The report also offers, in a rigorous yet accessible manner, guidance about how to address these challenges and to seize the opportunities that sound water management provides in order to achieve and maintain economic, social and environmental sustainability.

This publication examines issues of water sector reform and performance from the perspectives of institutional economics and political economic studies. The authors develop an alternative quantitative assessment methodology based on the principle of 'institutional ecology', as well as data collected from 127 water experts from 43 countries and regions around the world using a cross-country review of recent water sector reforms within an institutional transaction cost framework.