&EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Wastewater
Management
August 2017
EPA 830-R-17-001
Decis on-Making
.
Integrated Planning:
Characterizing the Value
of Water to Inform
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Springfield Team
Erin Kemper, City of Springfield, MO
Carrie Lamb, City of Springfield, MO
Todd Brewer, City Utilities of Springfield
Daniel Hedrick, City Utilities of Springfield
EPA Team
Emily Halter, U.S. EPA Office of Wastewater Management
Kevin Weiss, U.S. EPA Office of Wastewater Management
Glenn Curtis, U.S. EPA Region 7
Tanya Nix, U.S. EPA Region 7
This report was developed under EPA Contracts EP-C-11-009 and EP-C-16-003.
Cover photo: City of Springfield, Department of Environmental Services (top right)
Characterizing the Value of Water to Inform Decision-Making
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CONTENTS
1. Introduction .1
2. Quantifying Water Resource Users 2
2.1 Major Water Users 2
2.2 Recreational Water Users 2
2.3 Other Users 3
3. Estimating the Value of Water Resources 5
3.1 Estimating a Dollar Value for Recreational Use 5
3.2 Estimating the Impacts of Water Resources on Property Values 6
3.3 Additional Benefits from Improving Water Resources 7
3.3.1 The Value of Green Infrastructure 7
3.3.2 Green Jobs 7
4. Conclusion 9
5. References 10
Characterizing the Value of Water to Inform Decision-Making • ii
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1
INTRODUCTION
Many communities face complex challenges
in operating their wastewater and stormwater
infrastructure, including meeting Clean Water Act
(CWA) obligations under financial constraints.
Communities with multiple CWA obligations for
their wastewater treatment plants, sewer systems
and stormwater infrastructure must prioritize
their investments. They must also evaluate
different approaches and options for improving
their systems, including gray, green and data
infrastructure investments. Integrated planning
is the process of systematically identifying and
prioritizing actions and projects to meet CWA
obligations.1
Establishing a value for water resources in a
particular community—taking into account
ecological, economic, social and quality-of-
life considerations—can help inform integrated
planning decisions and support communication
with stakeholders. This document displays some of
the ways to characterize and quantify the value of
water, and to apply that value to inform integrated
wastewater and stormwater planning.
This document uses examples from Springfield,
Missouri: efforts by the city of Springfield, Greene
County, and City Utilities of Springfield to develop
a comprehensive integrated plan to address
the region's CWA, air quality and land resource
quality obligations. Through the integrated plan,
the city of Springfield and Greene County seek
to prioritize investments in water, land and air
resource improvements that address the most
pressing problems first and provide the greatest
value to the area's citizens. Springfield and Greene
County are interested in characterizing the value
of their water resources to provide a tool for
communicating local priorities with stakeholders.
This document presents:
• Approaches for quantifying water
resource users (Section 2).
• Approaches to estimating the value of
water resources (Section 3).
Two separate documents, available at
https://www.epa.gov/npdes/npdes-
, offer more
details on the work in Springfield-Green
County:
• Estimating the Value of Water: A
Literature Review (EPA 830-R-17-004)
• Estimating Users of Water Resources:
Springfield-Greene County Data
Collection Plan (EPA 830-R-17-005)
Also available are two complementary
integrated planning documents that focus
on soliciting stakeholder input through
communication and outreach, and using that
input to inform decision-making:
• Prioritizing Wastewater and Stormwater
Projects Using Stakeholder Input
(EPA 830-R-17-002)
• Public Outreach for Integrated
Wastewater and Stormwater Planning
(EPA 830-R-17-003)
1 EPA released the Integrated Municipal Stormwater and Wastewater
Planning Approach Framework to provide guidance on developing
integrated plans. The framework identifies the operating principles and
essential elements of an integrated plan. For more information, visit
http://www.epa.gov/npdes/inteqrated-planninq-municipal-stormwater-
and-wastewater
Characterizing the Value of Water to Inform Decision-Making • 1
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2 QUANTIFYING WATER
RESOURCE USERS
Identifying water uses and users is an important
part of the water resource valuation process. A
quantitative assessment of water users can help
communicate the importance of water resource
protection and improvement as well as provide
data for prioritizing infrastructure improvement
projects. Data on water users can come from a
variety of sources, with in-depth investigation
needed in some cases.
Springfield and Greene County with assistance
from EPA, developed a data collection plan to
characterize the number of water resource users
in the region. (The report Estimating Users of
Water Resources: Springfield-Greene County Data
Collection Plan offers a comprehensive overview
of this plan and the results of its execution.) The
project team investigated data on water resource
users within and downstream of the city of
Springfield and Greene County. After compiling
existing data, the team identified data gaps and
recommended ways to fill them. Springfield-Greene
County's data collection plan provides the next
steps for the project partners, as well as ideas for
other communities on gathering water resource
user data to support an integrated planning
process. The data collection plan considered major
water users (e.g., municipal water supply, industrial
facilities and agriculture), recreational water users
(e.g., boating and fishing) and those who value the
aesthetic appeal of water resources.
2.1 Major Water Users
Government agencies, industries and the public
can all be major water users, and depend on
quality and quantity of the water supply. For
example, the Missouri Department of Natural
Resources (MDNR) defines a major water user
as a public or private entity that is capable of
withdrawing 100,000 gallons/day from a source of
either surface or groundwater. Many major users
are documented or permitted, making data on
them easy to come by. To determine the number
of major water users within their jurisdiction,
the city and county used MDNR records from
2013 showing total surface and groundwater
withdrawals by major users in the watershed area.
The data revealed 33 major users, accounting for
the withdrawal of over 45 billion gallons of water
in 2013. The most significant major user was a local
power plant; municipal water supply industrial
facilities and agriculture (mostly beef cattle) also
contributed to the total.
2.2 Recreational Water Users
Many water-related recreational opportunities
are available to the public. These opportunities
can vary greatly depending on a municipality's
proximity to water resources, as well as what those
resources are. Some recreational activities generate
revenue (e.g., boat rentals and park entry fees),
and all rely on access to healthy bodies of water.
Data on recreational users can be hard to gather,
requiring some investigation and/or outreach.
Ways to collect recreational user data include
automatic trail counters, visitor center door
counters, boat rental sales and direct surveys.
Surveys can be especially valuable to local
organizations, municipalities and state agencies,
especially as they plan and consider future capital
development projects. These methods can be
expanded to collect information beyond user
counts. Potentially useful questions include where
users are from, what they use the recreational area
for, and what they would like to have included in
a recreational area (e.g., playgrounds, benches,
additional trails).
Characterizing the Value of Water to Inform Decision-Making • 2
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Scenic views from roadways. City of Springfield, Department of Environmental Services
In the Springfield-Greene County case, the project
team investigated available recreational user data
for parks managed within Springfield and Greene
County, as well as information from canoe and
kayak vendors, Examples of data collected:
• More than 21,000 watercraft rentals from private
vendors annually in the study area.
• About 53,327 visitors to Lake Springfield
annually, 3,000 of them renting watercraft on
the lake.
(For more data on recreational use, see Estimating
Users of Water Resources: Springfield-Greene
County Data Collection Plan.)
2.3 Other Users
Water resources are valued for other, less tangible
uses as well. For example, scenic views of streams
and lakes offer an aesthetic value to drivers and
sightseers. While pinpointing the number of users
enjoying the aesthetic value of water resources
may be difficult, there are ways to quantify the
approximate number of people who at least have
the opportunity to partake. Traffic counts are one
such method. Traffic count data or vehicle volume
can often be obtained from a state's department of
transportation, and some local governments may
also collect additional traffic data.
In the Springfield-Greene County case, vehicle
volume data came from the Missouri Department
of Transportation's (MDOT's) website. MDOT
determines annual average daily traffic by deploying
pneumatic road tube sensors perpendicular to the
roadway. These tubes count the number of vehicles
that travel particular segments of roadway as the
vehicles drive over them. Every three years, MDOT
produces maps detailing the amount of traffic using
Missouri's state highways. The project team used
these data to determine the number of vehicles
exposed to each of 10 different scenic crossings.
The data showed that more than 53,500 vehicles
per day passed by the selected areas.
Characterizing the Value of Water to Inform Decision-Making • 3
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Data on Magnitude of Water Use in Springfield and Greene County
• Within the study area watersheds (Greene County and downstream of Springfield-Greene County),
about 45 billion gallons of water are withdrawn from surface and groundwater sources each year
(based on 2013 data).
• Among livestock populations downstream of urban areas, over 10,000 cattle depend on streams as
a direct water supply.
• Recreational trails, including many that follow or cross over streams, draw thousands of visitors each
week, resulting in over 200,000 individual visits each year.
• While data on boat use are limited, watercraft rental in the region reflects at least 20,000 individual
uses annually.
Kayaks on the James River. City of Springfield, Department of Environmental Services
Characterizing the Value of Water to Inform Decision-Making
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3 ESTIMATING THE VALUE OF
WATER RESOURCES
Every community is unique in its circumstances,
its relationship with water and its perspective on
why its water is valuable. For this reason, water
resource values are determined and categorized in
a variety of ways.
Springfield's unique circumstances include its
location on a plateau. Many streams start within its
boundaries and flow through, providing greenway
corridors for recreational trails and wildlife while
conveying stormwater from urban development.
At several locations inside and outside the city,
streams and rivers are impounded for water supply
purposes and recreational use.
In Springfield, as in most communities nationwide,
water quality is important not only for drinking
water, industrial uses and recreation (boating,
fishing, hiking, wading), but also for economic
stability, growth and overall quality of life. The
water quality of lakes draws in thousands of
tourists who desire clear, clean, safe lakes for
recreation. In addition to the economic revenue the
lakes bring, there is intrinsic value for residents and
tourists in knowing that the water is safe to use
and enjoy.
Springfield and Greene County wish to estimate
and illustrate the value of their water resources.2
The estimates are intended to focus on the value
of existing water quality and additional value
associated with restoring water quality. EPA
supported the city of Springfield's integrated
plan by conducting a literature review of
relevant studies and recommended methods
for communicating water resources value to the
public. The review identified studies relating water
resource value to recreational opportunities and
the value of scenic views of lakes from single-
family homes. Information from the review will
help inform the integrated plan and show the
benefits of sustaining existing water resource value
and achieving additional value through further
restoration of water quality
3.1 Estimating a Dollar Value for
Recreational Use
Several techniques can be used to estimate the
value of recreational opportunities for a particular
waterbody (Figure 1). Two of the most common
are "stated preference" studies and "revealed
preference" studies. Generally considered the
most comprehensive, stated preference studies
use surveys to estimate the public's willingness-
to-pay for recreational opportunities and often
measure values based on different lake conditions,
including fishable, boatable or swimmable water
quality (U.S. EPA 2010a). Revealed preference
studies collect data on consumer spending during
recreational trips and derive the economic benefit
of recreational opportunities from these data; this
is sometimes called the travel cost method.
Lake clarity enhances recreational value. Photo: shore of
Lewis Smith Lake, Alabama—Quintaped
s Proposed projects are being evaluated usmpgJtustatngftlfl Return on
Investment
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Stated Preference
• Uses surveys to estimate the
public's willingness-to-pay for
recreational opportunities.
• Generally considered the most
comprehensive method.
• Values can reflect different water
quality conditions, including
fishable, boatable or swimmable
water quality.
Revealed Preference
(Travel-Cost Method)
• Collects data on consumer
spending during recreational
trips and derives the
economic benefit of
recreational opportunities from
these data.
Benefits Transfer
• Applies past valuation studies that
are similar in terms of environmen-
tal commodity, baseline and extent
of environmental changes, and
characteristics of affected
populations.
• Introduces uncertainty by
transferring values from other
locations, populations, etc.
Figure 1. Approaches to estimate value of recreational opportunities.
No one has directly used stated preference or
revealed preference methods to estimate the value
of recreational opportunities in Springfield-Greene
County. But studies in other Missouri counties and
other states using a "benefits transfer" approach
can inform an estimate of this value. This approach
involves identifying valuation studies of resources
similar to the resource in question in terms of
environmental commodity baseline and extent
of environmental changes, and characteristics of
affected populations (U.S. EPA 2010a).
As detailed in Estimating the Value of Water
Resources: A Literature Review, EPA reviewed the
literature for relevant values on recreational benefits
of lakes and streams in the city and county. Many
of the studies initially included in EPA's review were
conducted in distant states or for waterbodies
different in size and morphology from the
Springfield-Greene County lakes and streams. From
this larger list, EPA was able to identify a subset of
studies whose value data were more relevant due
to similar demographics, geography, morphology or
other factors.
The EPA team also evaluated studies on how lake
clarity affects the public's willingness to travel
for recreation. The Keeler et al. (2015) study
(conducted on lakes in Minnesota and Iowa) found
that better water clarity increases the number
of visits to lakes and that lake users were willing
to incur greater costs to visit clearer lakes. This
information can be used to estimate perceived user
values based on differing lake clarity measurements.
When using the benefits transfer approach in a
case like this—applying the Keeler subject lakes
to Springfield-Greene County—the sources of
bias must be considered in the estimates and the
potential for double counting "and any related
caveats must be noted when reporting the value
estimates.3
3.2 Estimating the Impacts of Water
Resources on Property Values
Property values can be affected both positively and
negatively by ecological and environmental factors
related to water resources. For example, waterfront
property is affected by proximity and views, water
quality, and recreational value. Using models to
estimate the impact of environmental factors on
property values, economists have established that
public water bodies provide external benefits that
are reflected in the value of nearby residential real
estate.
The EPA team for this project conducted a
literature review to identify studies providing
relevant property value data to Springfield-
Greene County. One study examined values of
views of artificial lakes from single-family homes
near Omaha, Nebraska. Models estimated that
lake views, including those associated with lakes
3 U.S. EPA (2010a) provides additional guidance for the benefit transfer
process in general, and Rosenberger and Stanley (2007) discuss bias
specifically related to recreation value estimates.
Characterizing the Value of Water to Inform Decision-Making • 6
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Lakefront property. Photo: Lake of the Ozarks homes
Missouri—Ben Jacobson
designed primarily for flood control and stormwater
management, increased home values by between
7.5 and 8.3 percent (Shultz and Schmitz 2008).
The literature values from this study can be used
in conjunction with GIS and real estate market
analysis to estimate a value for scenic views. Other
literature in nearby states can be used to support
the concept that scenic views, water quality and
water clarity are valuable.
3.3 Additional Benefits from
Improving Water Resources
Benefits beyond water quality/quantity
improvement are sometimes considered in
efforts to value water resources. These additional
benefits often take the form of landscape and
infrastructure improvements. A common example is
the promotion of green infrastructure practices to
achieve the desired water resource quality/quantity
improvements. Further, the proliferation of green
infrastructure can promote the establishment of
"green jobs" in a community.
Although the value of these additional benefits
(sometimes called "co-benefits") was not
specifically calculated for Springfield-Greene
County the literature review provides detailed
discussion on how value is typically calculated, as
well as examples from other communities.
3.3.1 The Value of Green Infrastructure
Green infrastructure can come with a variety of
environmental benefits, including reduced energy
use and heat island effects, better air quality and
more carbon sequestration. It can also promote
infrastructure cost savings and increase property
value.
Green infrastructure often provides an opportunity
to reduce the costs associated with traditional gray
infrastructure. As green infrastructure provides
infiltration, evapotranspiration and storage of
stormwater, it reduces the stress put on gray
infrastructure to control runoff. This can mean less
need for gray infrastructure maintenance, as well as
less capital needed to manage gray infrastructure
capacity concerns. Several cities have implemented
green infrastructure on a large scale and have seen
significant cost savings.
Green infrastructure and similar practices have
also been shown to raise surrounding property
values. Green infrastructure can improve aesthetics,
drainage and recreational opportunities. (Figure
2 shows an approach to estimating property
value changes based on proximity to green
infrastructure,) Increases in property value not only
benefit individual property owners, but also can
lead to higher tax revenue and general economic
improvement.
3.3.2 Green Jobs
Green infrastructure projects can stimulate local
economies by creating jobs for local residents,
which can provide direct, indirect and induced
economic benefits (see Figure 3). While the design
of green infrastructure requires professional
disciplines, such as landscape architecture,
its implementation yields "green collar" jobs
in construction, operation, maintenance and
installation.
Green infrastructure's maintenance needs create
an opportunity for local employment and offer
low barriers to workforce entry, since the majority
of work involves landscaping and other activities
that require minimal training. Jobs created through
green infrastructure give local communities an
economic value added beyond the jobs themselves.
Economic modeling can be used to estimate the
number and type of jobs as well as the associated
economic benefits expected from future green
infrastructure expenditures. IMPLAN (IMpacts for
PLANning) is one commonly used economic model.
Characterizing the Value of Water to Inform Decision-Making
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Estimating Property Value Changes Based on Proximity to
Green Infrastructure (Gl) and Low Impact Development
Step 1:
Literature
Review
Conduct literature
review of property
value studies for
chosen Gl
amenities
1 Make sure to
account for
proximity
Property within
WOO feet of open
space, trees, parks
Step 2:
Synthesis
1 Narrow studies
based on cities
with similar
population size,
demographics and
other characteris-
tics
1 Compile literature
values for estimat-
ed % change in
property value
Property value
increase range
between 0 and 100%
Step 3:
Find Average
¦ Calculate average
property value
changes based on
literature values
¦ Also account for
proximity based
on literature
Average 5% increase
in property values
for properties within
1,500 feet of
amenity
Step 4:
Collect Local
Data
Collect data.on
average home
value and sales
prices from
municipal offices
and/or recent
sales
Estimate current
property values
Average home price
$200,000
Step 5:
Determine
Increase
1 Apply averages for
ranges from
literature to-
average home
prices to deter-
mine expected
values of proper-
ties with chosen Gl
amenities
Home values, with
chosen 61 amenity
$210,000
Figure 2. Example of estimating property value changes based on proximity to green infrastructure.
Installing green roofs in
5% of Chicago's buildings
would create 7,934 jobs
from an investment of
$403 million (American
Rivers and Alliance for
Water Efficiency 2008).
Montgomery County,
Maryland expects to
employ 3,300 workers
over the next 3 years
buildings its new network
of green stormwater
controls (Chesapeake Bay
Foundation 2011).
Investments of $166
million in stormwater
projects between 2009-
2011 in Los Angeles
produced an estimated
2,075 total jobs (Burns
and Flaming 2011).
In Northeast Ohio,
31,000 direct jobs could
be created betweeen
2012-2016 from a $3
billion investment
in stormwater
infrastructure (Green for
All 2011).
Figure 3. Creating green jobs through green infrastructure projects.
Characterizing the Value of Water to Inform Decision-Making • 8
k
k
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4 CONCLUSION
Figure 4 summarizes some results of the
Springfield-Greene County effort to characterize
the value of water resources to support decision-
making and stakeholder communication and
outreach, both key components of the integrated
planning process.
Identifying major water uses is an important part of
assessing the value of water in a community which
in turn can inform the prioritization and selection of
capital projects as part of the integrated planning
process. Further, knowing the economic impacts
of keeping local water resources healthy can help
communities identify key stakeholders, educate
them on needs and priorities and ultimately foster
more support for the integrated planning process.
The data collection effort undertaken for this report
revealed that more local data may be available than
expected. State and local officials, government
agencies, and nonprofit organizations can be good
resources. In addition, some organizations such
as Ozark Greenways have developed customized
methods for extrapolating user counts for limited
data. The Springfield-Greene County case provides
an example of how local data on water users and
the value of water resources can be generated to
inform integrated planning.
Although the Springfield-Greene County region
has its own unique circumstances to consider
in assessing the value of water resources, other
communities can use the region's process and
results as a learning tool.
45 billion gallons of
water withdrawn
10,000+ cattle access
streams
The property value
differences between
lakefront and non-lake
front could be as high
as 8%
Water
Supply and
Agriculture
Recreation
Green
Infrastructure
Lakefront
Property
200,000 visits/year
20,000+ rentals/year
Consumer surplus could
range $18 to $60 per
person per day
Estimated property
value increase due to Gl
can range 0.3 to 30%
depending on location
and other factors
Figure 4. Some critical values associated with the value of the city of Springfield and Greene County's water resources.
Characterizing the Value of Water to Inform Decision-Making • 9
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5 REFERENCES
American Rivers and Alliance for Water Efficiency. 2008. Creating jobs and stimulating the economy
through investment in green water infrastructure.
Burns, P., and Flaming, D.J. 2011. Water use efficiency and jobs. Economic Roundtable Research Report.
Chesapeake Bay Foundation. 2011. Debunking the job killer myth: How pollution limits encourage jobs in
the Chesapeake Bay region.
Green for All. 2011. Water works: Rebuilding infrastructure, creating jobs, greening the environment.
Keeler, B„ S. Wood, S. Polasky, C. Kling, C. Filstrup, and J. Downing. 2015. Recreational demand for clean
water: Evidence from geotagged photographs by visitors to lakes. Frontiers in Ecology and the
Environment 13(2): 76-81. doi: 10.1890/140124.
Rosenberger, R.S., and T.D. Stanley. 2007. Publication effects in the recreation use value literature: a
preliminary investigation. Paper presented at the American Agricultural Economics Association Annual
Meeting, Portland, July 29-August 1, 2007.
Shultz, S., and N. Schmitz. 2008. How water resources limit and/or promote residential housing
developments in Douglas County. Appraisal Journal 76(3).
U.S. EPA. 2010a. Guidelines for preparing economic analyses. Updated May 2014. U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency National Center for Environmental Economics.
U.S. EPA. 2010b. Green infrastructure case studies: Municipal policies for managing stormwater with green
infrastructure. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Green Infrastructure.
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