Protection versus purification - assessing the benefits of drinking water quality

摘要

Clean drinking water can be secured either through protection of the groundwater resource or via purification of polluted water. In this study, the choice experiment method is used to assess the benefits of groundwater protection compared with the benefits of purification. The choice experiment method has been chosen as it allows the effects on drinking water and those on surface water quality to be assessed separately. The benefits associated with clean drinking water are found to be significant for both management options, although the willingness to pay for protection exceeds the willingness to pay for purification.