ABSTRACT
The Water Pollution Control Act amendments of 1972 provided the necessary legal framework for an ambitious effort aimed at extensive improvement of water quality in lakes and streams throughout the United States. Most Western communities and state governments welcomed and encouraged the clean water program as a source of new income and general economic growth. A complete economic analysis of a proposed policy to improve water quality would measure: the benefits of pollution control, the costs of reducing or removing waste discharge, the costs of monitoring and enforcing regulations, and where chronic unemployment exists, the indirect or secondary benefits and costs. Water quality improvement benefits were originally estimated in 1976 and updated to 1981. The largest single value associated with water quality improvement was for enhanced water-based recreation activities. Socioeconomic variables such as income and education were regressed on recreational use and option value estimates. This chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
