Nutrient Standards, Water Quality Indicators, and Economic Benefits from Water Quality Regulations

摘要

There is no consensus in the hedonic property pricing literature on measures of water quality to use for regulatory policy analysis. This study compares several alternative measures of water quality with a focus on singular and composite nutrient indicators. Our contribution is to compare and contrast these indicators in the context of benefit analysis based on recent regulatory programs for nutrients in the US and EU. Results indicate order of magnitude differences in the benefits derived from the different types of indicators. We find support for a compound indicator that combines three policy-relevant indicators into an overall measure of waterbody health and is significantly related to property values. Given the growing interest in objective criteria for regulating nutrients and other nonpoint source pollutants, these results provide guidance on the selection of indicators in property valuation studies of water quality regulations.