An Integrated Assessment Model for Valuing Water Quality Changes in the U.S

Joel Corona; Todd Doley; Charles Griffiths; Matthew Massey; Chris Moore; Stephen Muela; Brenda Rashleigh; William Wheeler; Stephen D Whitlock; Julie Hewitt

doi:10.3368/wple.96.4.478

An Integrated Assessment Model for Valuing Water Quality Changes in the U.S

Land Econ. 2020 Nov 1;96(4):478-492. doi: 10.3368/wple.96.4.478.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), Office of Water, Washington, District of Columbia.
² US EPA, Office of Water, Washington, District of Columbia.
³ US EPA, National Center for Environmental Economics, Washington, District of Columbia.
⁴ Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) with US EPA Office of Water, Washington, District of Columbia.
⁵ US EPA, Office of Research and Development, Narragansett, Rhode Island.

Abstract

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) often requires expertise from environmental assessors, hydrologists, economists, and others to analyze the benefits of regional and national policy decisions related to changes in water quality. This led EPA to develop two models to form an Integrated Assessment Model (IAM): HAWQS is a web-based water quantity and quality modeling systems and BenSPLASH is a modeling platform for quantifying the economic benefits of changes in water quality. This paper discusses the development of the component models and applies HAWQS and BenSPLASH to a case study in the Republican River Basin.

Keywords: Economic Valuation; Integrated Assessment Model; Water Quality.

Grants and funding

EPA999999/ImEPA/Intramural EPA/United States