IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hal/journl/hal-05156559.html

Where to measure water quality? Application to nitrogen pollution in a catchment in France

Author

Listed:
  • François Destandau

    (UMR GESTE - Gestion Territoriale de l'Eau et de l'environnement - ENGEES - École Nationale du Génie de l'Eau et de l'Environnement de Strasbourg - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, SAGE - Sociétés, Acteurs, Gouvernement en Europe - UNISTRA - Université de Strasbourg - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Youssef Zaiter

    (UMR GESTE - Gestion Territoriale de l'Eau et de l'environnement - ENGEES - École Nationale du Génie de l'Eau et de l'Environnement de Strasbourg - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement)

Abstract

Information on the water quality of rivers can be used to judge the effectiveness of past policies or to guide future environmental policies. Consequently, the location of water quality monitoring stations (WQMSs) plays an important role in river pollution control. In the 2000s, a literature developed on the optimization of WQMS location to identify pollution hot spots, average quality, or to minimize the detection time of a potential source of accidental pollution. This article is part of a new literature aimed at localizing WQMSs in order to optimize the economic value of information (EVOI) generated by water quality monitoring networks (WQMNs). The field of study is a catchment in northeastern France where the purpose of quality measurement is to define a policy of reduction of agricultural nitrogen fertilizers in order to reach the standard of 50 mg/l of nitrate at the WQMS. Agro-hydrological and economic models estimate the net benefit of input reduction depending on the location of the WQMS on the basis of different assumptions concerning the ecological damage generated by nitrate. We show that the magnitude of the ecological damage and, consequently, the perception of the contamination generated by nitrate in water, play a decisive role on the optimal location of the WQMS, as well as on the benefit of the economic optimization of locations, compared to traditional optimization. Locating WQMSs in a way that maximizes EVOI will be more attractive for very high or very low levels of damage. However, in this context, linking damage to nitrate concentration or to concentration coupled with riparian population density alone will have little impact.

Suggested Citation

  • François Destandau & Youssef Zaiter, 2023. "Where to measure water quality? Application to nitrogen pollution in a catchment in France," Post-Print hal-05156559, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05156559
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.116721
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-05156559v1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://hal.science/hal-05156559v1/document
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.116721?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alvarez-Vázquez, L.J. & Martínez, A. & Vázquez-Méndez, M.E. & Vilar, M.A., 2006. "Optimal location of sampling points for river pollution control," Mathematics and Computers in Simulation (MATCOM), Elsevier, vol. 71(2), pages 149-160.
    2. Alban Verchère, 2010. "Normes, taxes et pollution diffuse aux nitrates," Revue française d'économie, Presses de Sciences-Po, vol. 0(2), pages 93-135.
    3. Price, James I. & Heberling, Matthew T., 2018. "The Effects of Source Water Quality on Drinking Water Treatment Costs: A Review and Synthesis of Empirical Literature," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 195-209.
    4. Feuillette, Sarah & Levrel, Harold & Boeuf, Blandine & Blanquart, Stéphanie & Gorin, Olivier & Monaco, Guillaume & Penisson, Bruno & Robichon, Stéphane, 2016. "The use of cost–benefit analysis in environmental policies: Some issues raised by the Water Framework Directive implementation in France," Environmental Science & Policy, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 79-85.
    5. François Destandau & Youssef Zaiter, 2020. "Optimisation « économique » vs « physique » des réseaux de surveillance de la qualité de l’eau," Revue d'économie politique, Dalloz, vol. 130(3), pages 473-499.
    6. François Destandau & Youssef Zaiter, 2020. "Optimisation « économique » vs « physique » des réseaux de surveillance de la qualité de l'eau," Post-Print hal-03373478, HAL.
    7. Kuosmanen, Natalia, 2014. "Estimating stocks and flows of nitrogen: Application of dynamic nutrient balance to European agriculture," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 68-78.
    8. Koikkalainen, Kauko & Laukkanen, Marita & Helin, Janne, 2006. "Abatement costs for agricultural nitrogen and phosphorus loads: a case study of South-Western Finland," Discussion Papers 11867, MTT Agrifood Research Finland.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Scemama, Pierre & Levrel, Harold, 2019. "Influence of the Organization of Actors in the Ecological Outcomes of Investment in Restoration of Biodiversity," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 71-79.
    2. Kari Hyytiäinen & Anni Huhtala, 2014. "Combating eutrophication in coastal areas at risk for oil spills," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 219(1), pages 101-121, August.
    3. Tariq Aziz & Alain-Désiré Nimubona & Philippe Van Cappellen, 2023. "Comparative Valuation of Three Ecosystem Services in a Canadian Watershed Using Global, Regional, and Local Unit Values," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-17, July.
    4. Kuosmanen, Timo & Laukkanen, Marita, 2009. "(In)Efficient Management of Interacting Environmental Bads," Discussion Papers 54287, MTT Agrifood Research Finland.
    5. Sihvonen, M. & Valkama, E. & Hyytiainen, K., 2018. "Optimal Abatement of Nitrogen and Phosphorus Loading from Spring Crop Cultivation," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277119, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    6. Xin Li & Konstantinos J. Chalvatzis & Phedeas Stephanides, 2018. "Innovative Energy Islands: Life-Cycle Cost-Benefit Analysis for Battery Energy Storage," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-19, September.
    7. Helin, Janne, 2009. "Does geography matter in nutrient abatement? Bioeconomic model of heteregoneus farm nutrient loads," 2009 Conference, August 16-22, 2009, Beijing, China 51693, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    8. Helin, Janne, 2008. "Environmental protection of agriculture -clash of policies?," 107th Seminar, January 30-February 1, 2008, Sevilla, Spain 6468, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    9. Astrid Cullmann & Julia Rechlitz & Greta Sundermann & Nicole Wägner, 2025. "External costs of water pollution in the drinking water supply sector," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 107(2), pages 504-531, March.
    10. Marita Laukkanen & Céline Nauges, 2011. "Environmental and Production Cost Impacts of No-till in Finland: Estimates from Observed Behavior," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 87(3), pages 508-527.
    11. Huilin Li & Zuomin Wen, 2023. "A Market-Based Payment Study for Forest Water Purification Service in Loess Plateau of Yellow River Basin, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-16, October.
    12. Destandau François & Zaiter Youssef, 2020. "Optimizing the water quality monitoring network by maximizing the economic value of information," Post-Print hal-03373506, HAL.
    13. Roberto Mosheim & Robin C. Sickles, 2021. "Spatial effects of nutrient pollution on drinking water production," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 60(6), pages 2741-2764, June.
    14. Danelon, André Felipe & Augusto, Fernanda Gaudio & Spolador, Humberto Francisco Silva, 2021. "Water resource quality effects on water treatment costs: An analysis for the Brazilian case," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    15. Janne Antero Helin, 2014. "Reducing nutrient loads from dairy farms: a bioeconomic model with endogenous feeding and land use," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 45(2), pages 167-184, March.
    16. Destandau François & Zaiter Youssef, 2020. "Spatio-Temporal Design for a Water Quality Monitoring Network Maximizing the Economic Value of Information to optimize the detection of accidental pollution," Post-Print hal-03373487, HAL.
    17. Line Hansen & Lars Hansen, 2014. "Can Non-point Phosphorus Emissions from Agriculture be Regulated Efficiently Using Input-Output Taxes?," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 58(1), pages 109-125, May.
    18. Westling, Nils & Stromberg, Per M. & Swain, Ranjula Bali, 2020. "Can upstream ecosystems ensure safe drinking water—Insights from Sweden," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    19. Woodhouse, P. & Muller, M., 2017. "Water Governance—An Historical Perspective on Current Debates," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 225-241.
    20. François Destandau & Youssef Zaiter, 2020. "Optimisation « économique » vs « physique » des réseaux de surveillance de la qualité de l'eau," Post-Print hal-03373478, HAL.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05156559. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: CCSD (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.