ABSTRACT
This chapter examines residential ware use, focusing on the economic importance of the public water supply sector, water use in the public supply and domestic self-supply sectors, the investment in public water supply and treatment infrastructure that is likely to be needed to meet future demands, and available estimates of the value of water in domestic use, including the value of improvements in residential water quality and reliability. It examines the economic settling for agricultural water use by first summarizing the current system of pricing and distribution, and characterizes the role of water in manufacturing. The chapter discusses available estimates of the use of water for hydropower generation, including expected changes in future use. It discusses the economic importance of commercial navigation, and analyzes the role of water in recreation and tourism, focusing in particular on how the characteristics of a water resource affect people’s willingness to pay for recreational activities, which in turn affects the consumption of market goods.
