The Value of Water Quality for Coastal Recreation in New England, USA

Nathaniel Merrill, Marisa J. Mazzotta, Kate K. Mulvaney, Joshua Paul Sawyer, Julia Twichell, Sarina F. Atkinson, Darryl Keith and Laura Erban
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Joshua Paul Sawyer: EPA

No q2mg3, SocArXiv from Center for Open Science

Abstract: Water recreation is valuable to people and its value can be affected by changes in water quality. This paper presents the results of a primary data collection effort using a revealed preference survey to elicit coastal New England, USA residents’ values for water recreation and water quality. We combined the survey responses with a comprehensive dataset of coastal attributes, including in-water and remotely sensed water quality metrics for the coast of New England. The results provide an updated willingness-to-pay for a coastal recreation trip of $26-$28 (USD). Using a travel cost model framework, we found water clarity and the bacterial conditions of coastal waters to be practical water quality inputs to economic analysis, available at appropriate scales and meaningful to people and their behavior. Changes in clarity and bacterial conditions affected trip values, with a $4-$5 change for a meter in clarity and $0.13 for a one-unit change, respectively. We demonstrate their utility and the large potential value of improving water quality through welfare analysis scenarios for Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, and Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA. The paper discusses generalizable lessons for improving the policy relevance and applicability of water quality valuation studies in the U.S. and worldwide through improved water quality data collection and aggregation combined with application of scalable analysis tools for valuation.

Date: 2022-09-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr, nep-dcm, nep-env and nep-upt
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:osf:socarx:q2mg3

DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/q2mg3

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