Browsing by Author "Eisen-Hecht, JI"

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    A cost-benefit analysis of water quality protection in the Catawba basin
    (Journal of the American Water Resources Association, 2002-01-01) Eisen-Hecht, JI; Kramer, RA
    The primary objective of this study was to perform a cost-benefit analysis of maintaining the current level of water quality in the Catawba River basin. Economic benefits were estimated using a stated preference survey method designed to value respondents' willingness to pay for a management plan to protect water quality in the Catawba basin over time. From the surveys conducted with 1,085 area residents, we calculated an annual mean willingness to pay of $139 for the management plan, or more than $75.4 million for all taxpayers in the area. Over the five-year time horizon in which respondents were asked to pay for the management plan, this resulted in a total economic benefit of $340.1 million. The Watershed Analysis Risk Management Framework model was used to estimate the amount of management activities needed to protect the current level of water quality in the basin over time. Based on the model results, the total cost of the management plan was calculated to be $244.8 million over a ten-year period. The resulting cost-benefit analysis indicated that the potential benefits of this management plan would outweigh the costs by more than $95 million.
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    Estimating the economic value of water quality protection in the Catawba River basin
    (Water Resources Research, 2002-09-01) Kramer, RA; Eisen-Hecht, JI
    [1] This study used stated preference methods to estimate the economic value of protecting water quality in the Catawba River basin of North and South Carolina at its current level. Telephone interviews were completed with 1085 randomly selected households, who were also mailed a short information booklet about these issues. Respondents expressed a mean willingness to pay $139 for a management plan designed to protect water quality at its current level over time. Aggregation of this mean willingness to pay value amounted to an annual economic benefit of over $75 million for all taxpayers in Catawba basin counties. By using a split-sample survey design, this study also compared the effectiveness of different combined mail and telephone survey formats. Results indicated that while a phone-mail-phone approach is preferred for some reasons over a mail-phone approach, the survey format did not significantly affect the economic valuation results.