A survey and assessment are presented of the state-of-art of economic analyses dealing with water pollution control benefits and costs. A conceptual basis for benefit cost analysis involving water quality management is suggested. An economic concept of a social welfare function is presented as the most widely accepted public criterion which embodies environmental quality concerns. Problems of efficiency, equity, externalities and social discount rates are outlined. Also, the adequacy of such information is assessed. Benefit measurements of water quality factors are meager and underdeveloped. A variety of partial-equilibrium approaches to benefit measurement are outlined and some problems, including the planning horizon (time profile), are described. To assess benefit cost impacts of water pollution control, location-preserved analyses are necessary. General systems analysis approaches are implicitly required to measure benefits and costs of pollution control.