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    Economics in A Watershed

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    Matt Maniscalco
    Protecting watersheds can reduce costs for communities. A US study found that protecting forested watersheds used for drinking water led to fewer costs for water treatment. Maintaining natural landscapes helps minimize flood damage and erosion, reducing economic burdens. While initial costs may be high, overall watershed protection is cost effective due to lower treatment and infrastructure repair expenses. However, changes must consider economic impacts on local residents and businesses.

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    Economics in A Watershed

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    Matt Maniscalco
    32 views3 pages
    Protecting watersheds can reduce costs for communities. A US study found that protecting forested watersheds used for drinking water led to fewer costs for water treatment. Maintaining natural landscapes helps minimize flood damage and erosion, reducing economic burdens. While initial costs may be high, overall watershed protection is cost effective due to lower treatment and infrastructure repair expenses. However, changes must consider economic impacts on local residents and businesses.

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    Economics in a Watershed

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    Protecting watersheds can reduce costs for communities. A US study found that protecting forested watersheds used for drinking water led to fewer costs for water treatment. Maintaining natural landscapes helps minimize flood damage and erosion, reducing economic burdens. While initial costs may be high, overall watershed protection is cost effective due to lower treatment and infrastructure repair expenses. However, changes must consider economic impacts on local residents and businesses.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    32 views3 pages

    Economics in A Watershed

    Uploaded by

    Matt Maniscalco
    Protecting watersheds can reduce costs for communities. A US study found that protecting forested watersheds used for drinking water led to fewer costs for water treatment. Maintaining natural landscapes helps minimize flood damage and erosion, reducing economic burdens. While initial costs may be high, overall watershed protection is cost effective due to lower treatment and infrastructure repair expenses. However, changes must consider economic impacts on local residents and businesses.

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    Economics in a watershed

    Watershed protection is the main goal and idea behind this discussion, but how much
    does it cost? What effect do these changes bring economically to these developing
    regions and communities, landowners and residents? This question is brought up in every
    debate regarding watershed protection, as changes cant be made without capital. There
    are many economic benefits of protecting a watershed. Investing in the future of a
    watershed may have high upfront cost but in turn it will actually be cost affective in
    regards to water treatment.
    In a study of 27 US water suppliers, researchers found that protecting forested
    watersheds used for drinking water sources can reduce capital, operational and
    maintenance costs for drinking water treatment. They found that watersheds with
    greater percentages of protected forest correlate to fewer water treatment
    expenditures
    You maybe thinking, what does protecting forested land have to do with a watershed? It
    has been proven that land with high retention in natural green infrastructure actually
    minimizes property damage and cleanup costs from flood damage. When land is covered
    by forested type terrain, it prevents runoff from moving rapidly across the landscape and
    allows it to slowly infiltrate into the soil, reducing erosion and high flows. A healthy
    watershed will reduce the area and impact of a flood, minimize the economic burden on
    public infrastructure, reduce erosion and water treatment costs and can restore natural
    groundwater recharge.
    Naranpur
    As stated earlier the water quality is extremely poor in Narapur. Although many agree
    they want to fix this issue or find a way to continue their current lifestyle they cant. The
    population is concerned with growing crops to use for feed or person family use. These
    villagers continue to use fertilizers and pesticides which is a main driving force behind
    the water quality. For many years now there has been talk that there is a direct link
    between water and air quality to human health. Urbanization has negative impacts on
    river and stream water quality and associated economic benefits. This is a major issue we
    have dealt with in Naranpur. When government or a community voice pursues a water
    quality improvement policy, for example regulation of polluting which could include
    implementation of urban land use controls. There is always winners and loser when a
    policy is enacted. Losses are typically straightforward as it may reduce ones profits and
    increase consumers cost. Gains on the other hand are often more difficult to measure,
    especially when they come in the form of public goods such as water quality.

    Rio Grande-Albuquerque Watershed


    As the main focus is to maintain safe and clean drinking water the US has implemented
    many acts to ensure this. The EPA has set standards on water quality through the Safe
    Drinking Water Act and the Clean Water Act. While looking into the Rio Grande
    Watershed I found that a large jet fuel spill had happened recently affecting the
    groundwater of thousands of people. Many economic cost are associated with the
    pollution of water in a watershed. Some of the obvious economic costs of water pollution
    include reduced recreational value of rivers, streams, and lakes, including boating,
    fishing, and swimming. This also diminished value of commercial fishing in streams,
    estuaries, and oceans; and the lost use of private water wells due to chemical and
    biological contamination. The chemical contaminants is what Albuquerque is faced with
    today with the jet fuel spill. Who pays the cost of water pollution and depletion? The
    people. The investors in these large industrial and agricultural businesses reap the
    economic benefit of their inevitable pollution and depletion of water; the people in
    surrounding communities and in society in general ultimately pay the costs.
    Xining, China Watershed
    There are many factors leading to the deterioration of the aquatic environment in the
    Xining Watershed. Studies have shown that a large number of construction projects and
    the discharge of waste water without treatment both within the boundary are the main
    factors causing the pollution. In areas like Xining, industrial type business isnt so
    predominant as agricultural. Agricultural lands received water so polluted that it was
    unfit for use, leading to significant loss of grain production. When there is soil pollution,
    which not only threatens the food supply and safety, but also endangers the public health,
    and damages the ecological system in some regions. All of these things effect the
    economy of each water shed in some way. Everything cost some amount in the world
    today. Digging a problem deeper and deeper is only creating a large cost to fix the issue
    we create.

    Sources:
    http://www.dw.com/en/how-much-is-pollution-costing-chinas-economy/a-18323476
    http://www.homerdixon.com/projects/state/chinaeco/pollut.htm
    http://web.missouri.edu/ikerdj/papers/Wisconsin%20-%20Water%20Pollution
    %20Depletion.htm
    http://www.eldis.org/go/home&id=33800&type=Document#.VikKV4SYeLI

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