Measuring the value of water quality improvements for recreation use on an urban river: a travel cost contingent behavior approach

We estimate the value of water quality improvements for recreational activities on and near the Brandywine Creek in Delaware. We divide water-based recreational activities into two groups: water-contact and non-water-contact. We then consider the behavioral change of the recreationists in each group when faced with water quality improvements posed in a stated preference (contingent behavior) survey. We use five common physical attributes of water quality in the contingent behavior analysis: water clarity, catch rate of fish, safety of eating fish, safety for swimming, and ecological health. The survey was constructed in such a way that each of these attributes of water quality is valued. The per-trip value for water quality improvements ranged from $4 to $63 for contact use and from $4 to $29 for non-contact use depending on which and how many attributes of water quality improve. Even though we measure sizable benefits, rough cost estimates appear to make it difficult for incremental improvements to exceed costs unless attribute improvement is widespread.