Grantee Research Project Results

2016 Progress Report: Valuing Water Quality Improvements in Midwestern Ecosystems: SpatialVariability, Validity and Extent of the Market for Total Value

EPA Grant Number: R836166
Title: Valuing Water Quality Improvements in Midwestern Ecosystems: SpatialVariability, Validity and Extent of the Market for Total Value
Investigators: Kling, Catherine L. , Keiser, David A , Finlay, Jacques C , Phaneuf, Daniel J. , Vossler, Christian , Zhao, Jinhua
Current Investigators: Keiser, David A , Kling, Catherine L. , Phaneuf, Daniel J. , Zhao, Jinhua , Vossler, Christian , Finlay, Jacques C
Institution: Iowa State University , University of Minnesota , University of Wisconsin - Madison , Michigan State University , University of Tennessee
Current Institution: University of Massachusetts Amherst , Iowa State University , Michigan State University , University of Tennessee , University of Wisconsin - Madison , University of Minnesota
EPA Project Officer: Packard, Benjamin H
Project Period: April 1, 2016 through March 31, 2021 (Extended to March 31, 2023)
Project Period Covered by this Report: April 1, 2016 through March 31,2017
Project Amount: $800,000
RFA: Water Quality Benefits (2015) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Water

Objective:

I) Estimate spatially explicit total values of water quality improvements representative of the ecological and socioeconomic characteristics within the Upper Mississippi and Ohio-Tennessee River Basins.

II) Link changes in nutrient pollution to changes in ecosystem services and economic value by developing new metrics for ecological and economic assessment.

Progress Summary:

Significant effort has been put into the collection of data from states in the region to assemble a BCG dataset that covers our study region. The adjacent figures depicts locations of that information, which consists of raw taxonomic data (for fish and/or invertebrates), biological condition scores, plus habitat and landscape information for ~31,000 stream samples in the Upper Mississippi and Ohio-Tennessee River Basins.

Future Activities:

The major activity in the near term is to develop and hone the definition of the water quality "good" that we will be valuing in the stated preference study. In addition to identifying the most salient characterisitics of the good, we will also work to develop the extent of the market and spatial scale at which we will be presenting water quality changes to survey respondents.

Journal Articles:

No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 26 publications for this project

Supplemental Keywords:

Water quality, non-market valuation, stated preference survey, biological condition gradient, integrated assessment model.

Relevant Websites:

None

Progress and Final Reports:

Original Abstract

The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.