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An Integrated Assessment Model for Valuing Water Quality Changes in the US
Citation:
Corona, J., T. Doley, C. Griffiths, M. Massey, Christopher Moore, S. Muela, B. Rashleigh, W. Wheeler, Stephen Whitlock, AND J. Hewitt. An Integrated Assessment Model for Valuing Water Quality Changes in the US. Land Economics. University of Wisconsin Press, Madison, WI, 96(4):478-492, (2020). https://doi.org/10.3368/wple.96.4.478
Impact/Purpose:
We introduce a set of models being developed at EPA to support water quality benefits valuation, demonstrate their ability to function as an integrated assessment model through a case study in the Missouri River Region, and outline an active research and development agenda which will result in additional capabilities to perform a variety of water quality valuation analyses across the national landscape. The open source, collaborative approach we have taken to model development is designed to allow us to incorporate new data, approaches, and techniques developed by other researchers in this area.
Description:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) often requires expertise from environmental assessors, hydrologists, economists, and others to analyze the benefits of regional and national policy decisions related to changes in water quality. This led EPA to develop two integral components in a water quality Integrated Assessment Model (IAM): (1) the Hydrologic and Water Quality System (HAWQS), and (2) the Benefits Spatial Platform for Aggregating Socioeconomics and H2O Quality (BenSPLASH). HAWQS is a web-based interactive water quantity and quality modeling system that simulates the effects of an extensive array management practices and terrestrial landscapes on several key water quality parameters. The BenSPLASH modeling platform is designed to quantify the economic benefits of changes in those key water quality parameters. This paper discusses the development of the models and applies HAWQS and BenSPLASH to a case study in the Republican River Basin.
