Here, we provide a resource library for analysts, decision makers, and advocates seeking to identify and examine the multiple benefits of water management strategies.
A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Seminatural Wetlands and Activated Sludge Wastewater-Treatment Systems
A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Seminatural Wetlands and Activated Sludge Wastewater-Treatment Systems compares cost efficiency of wastewater treatment capacity for three constructed wetlands and three wastewater treatment plants. Considering only the wastewater treatment, and no other costs and benefits, the authors find constructed treatment wetlands are competitive with traditional wastewater treatment facilities.
Author: Mannino et al., (2008)
Geography: U.S.
Level of Detail: Economic valuation
Availability: Paywall
Water Management Strategies: Engineered wetlands, Wastewater Treatment
Specific Benefits or Trade-offs: Affordability, Local economy, People and Community
From ash pond to Riverside Wetlands: Making the business case for engineered natural technologies
From ash pond to Riverside Wetlands: Making the business case for engineered natural technologies applies a nature valuation framework to a case study on the Tittabawassee River in Michigan. This framework was developed through a partnership with the Dow Chemical Company and the Nature Conservancy to meet a goal of $1 billion in long term value for business projects that improve nature. This article explains the framework and applies it to the Tittabawassee River site.
Author: Guertin et al., (2018)
Geography: Midwestern U.S.
Level of Detail: Case study, Decision support tool
Availability: Publicly Available
Water Management Strategies: Distributed Stormwater Infrastructure, Land Management, Wetland protection and restoration
Specific Benefits or Trade-offs: Ambient water quality, Habitat and biodiversity
Estimating the costs and health benefits of water and sanitation improvements at global level
Estimating the costs and health benefits of water and sanitation improvements at global level compares the cost of improving water supply and sanitation to the benefit of averting disease burden. The authors find improving sanitation has positive benefits up to $13,000 per disease year prevented, and the most cost effective intervention is household water treatment.
Author: Haller et al., (2007)
Geography: Global
Level of Detail: Economic valuation
Availability: Publicly Available
Water Management Strategies: Centralized wastewater treatment, Wastewater Treatment
Specific Benefits or Trade-offs: Community resilience, Drinking water quality, Health and safety, People and Community, Water quality
Measuring the success of climate change adaptation and mitigation in terrestrial ecosystems
Measuring the success of climate change adaptation and mitigation in terrestrial ecosystems examines how restoration can impact carbon sequestration and improve ecosystem resilience. This review paper examined 70 different studies and identifies synergies between restoration, climate, and people as an important step to ensure restoration effectiveness.
Author: Morecroft et al., American Association for the Advancement of Science (2019)
Geography: Global
Level of Detail: Quantitative benefits
Availability: Publicly Available
Water Management Strategies: Distributed Stormwater Infrastructure, Land Management
Specific Benefits or Trade-offs: GHG emissions, Land and environment
A Path Forward forCalifornia’s FreshwaterEcosystems
A Path Forward for California’s Freshwater Ecosystems makes the case for shifting Endangered Species Act implementation from the species to the ecosystem level. This shift could allow for the creation of direct ecosystem-based objectives and increase implementation of multiple benefit projects.
Author: Mount et al., Public Policy Institute of California (2019)
Geography: Western U.S.
Level of Detail: Qualitative description
Availability: Publicly Available
Water Management Strategies: Land Management, Reforestation and forest conservation, Stream protection and restoration, Wetland protection and restoration
Specific Benefits or Trade-offs: Habitat and biodiversity, Land and environment
Triple Bottom Line Guidelines
The Triple Bottom Line Guidelines from Melbourne Water outlines a process of including triple bottom line analysis into new water management projects. This guide provides a simple framework to assess projects from identifying needs to stakeholder engagement. Case studies showing applications of triple bottom line assessment are also included.
Author: Melbourne Water (2007)
Geography: Global
Level of Detail: Decision support tool
Availability: Publicly Available
Water Management Strategies: Distributed Stormwater Infrastructure, Water Reuse, Water Transfer
Specific Benefits or Trade-offs: Land and environment, People and Community, Risk and Resilience
Nature-based Solutions Evidence Platform
The Nature-based Solutions Evidence Platform provides visualization and sorting tools for resources and data related to benefits from nature-based solutions. The data can be filtered by a variety of categories, mapped by country, or charted to show results.
Author: University of Oxford (2019)
Geography: Global
Level of Detail: Qualitative description
Availability: Publicly Available
Water Management Strategies: Agricultural land management, Land Management, Reforestation and forest conservation, Stream protection and restoration, Wetland protection and restoration
Specific Benefits or Trade-offs: Flooding, Land and environment, People and Community, Water quality
Conservation Gateway
The Conservation Gateway provides resources to support conservation practices in water management. The gateway provides a variety of resources from funding for freshwater conservation to protocols on water quality assessment. The resources are divided between: Corporate Water Use, Environmental Flows, Water Infrastructure, Water Quality, Habitat Protection and Restoration, Financial Solutions, Saving Great Rivers, and Setting Freshwater Priorities.
Author: The Nature Conservancy (N/A)
Geography: Global
Level of Detail: Qualitative description
Availability: Publicly Available
Water Management Strategies: Land Management, Water Conservation and Efficiency
Specific Benefits or Trade-offs: Habitat and biodiversity, In stream flows, Land and environment
Downstream Economic Benefits of Conservation Development
Downstream Economic Benefits of Conservation Development uses a case study in Chicago, Illinois to value the benefits of on-site stormwater storage. Johnson et al. uses simulation models to demonstrate these practices can create benefits to downstream properties. They find stormwater storage can reduce construction costs and provide significant benefits in reduced flood damage to downstream properties.
Author: Johnston et al., University of Illinois (2005)
Geography: Midwestern U.S.
Level of Detail: Case study, Economic valuation
Availability: Publicly Available
Water Management Strategies: Distributed Stormwater Infrastructure, Runoff storage
Specific Benefits or Trade-offs: Flooding
Economics of Managed Aquifer Recharge
Economics of Managed Aquifer Recharge suggests methodology for performing a cost benefit analysis for aquifer recharge projects. They list the indicators for determining costs and the methods that could be used to valuing benefits. The risks and uncertainty from performing such analysis are discussed and recommendations are made for implementing aquifer recharge valuations.
Author: Maliva, Schlumberger Water Services (2014)
Geography: Global
Level of Detail: Economic valuation
Availability: Publicly Available
Water Management Strategies: Groundwater Management, Groundwater recharge
Specific Benefits or Trade-offs: Supply augmentation, Water Supply
Portland’s Green Infrastructure: Quantifying the Health, Energy, and Community Livability Benefits
Portland’s Green Infrastructure: Quantifying the Health, Energy, and Community Livability Benefits quantifies the benefits of green infrastructure (GI) initiatives. Using available research and data, the city quantified benefits in energy and described benefits to community livability and health. This report breaks down the benefits by different GI types to show how projects impact each benefit category.
Author: City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services (2010)
Geography: Western U.S.
Level of Detail: Quantitative benefits
Availability: Publicly Available
Water Management Strategies: Distributed Stormwater Infrastructure, Low impact landscaping, Runoff conveyance
Specific Benefits or Trade-offs: Aesthetics, Air quality, Energy, Energy for wastewater, GHG emissions, Health and safety, Land and environment, People and Community, Recreation
Water for Wilderness Areas: Instream Flow Needs, Protection, and Economic Value
Water for Wilderness Areas: Instream Flow Needs, Protection, and Economic Value reviews literature to examine the needs of wilderness for instream flows. Instream flows sufficient for supporting recreation may not be sufficient for supporting wilderness needs. There is no consensus on how much quantity or value these flows have, but existence value techniques may be able to estimate this.
Author: Brown, US Forest Service (1991)
Geography: U.S.
Level of Detail: Economic valuation, Qualitative description
Availability: Publicly Available
Water Management Strategies: Land Management, Stream protection and restoration
Specific Benefits or Trade-offs: Habitat and biodiversity, In stream flows, Land and environment
Assessing The Direct Effects of Streamflow on Recreation: A Literature Review
Assessing The Direct Effects of Streamflow on Recreation: A Literature Review examines the relationship between stream flows and recreation quality. Most papers found a nonlinear relationship between increases in stream flows and recreation quality. Recreation quality increases with streamflows until a site specific point, and then levels out. This indicates there could be an optimum stream flow in water systems for recreation quality.
Author: Brown et al., US Forest Service (1991)
Geography: U.S.
Level of Detail: Qualitative description
Availability: Publicly Available
Water Management Strategies: Land Management, Stream protection and restoration
Specific Benefits or Trade-offs: In stream flows, Land and environment, People and Community, Recreation
Recreation Benefits of Instream Flow: Application to Montana’s Big Hole and Bitterroot Rivers
Recreation Benefits of Instream Flow: Application to Montana’s Big Hole and Bitterroot Rivers uses economic valuation to calculate recreational and downstream energy production benefits. The authors develop an instream valuation framework and apply it to a Montana river case study.
Author: Duffield et al., US Forest Service (1998)
Geography: Western U.S.
Level of Detail: Case study, Economic valuation
Availability: Publicly Available
Water Management Strategies: Land Management, Stream protection and restoration
Specific Benefits or Trade-offs: Energy, Energy production, In stream flows, Land and environment, People and Community, Recreation
Economic-Engineering Method for Assessing Trade-Offs between Instream and Offstream Uses
Economic-Engineering Method for Assessing Trade-Offs between Instream and Offstream Uses creates a method for comparing values of instream and offstream uses of water. Using the example of a river in Chile, the authors compare the valuation of more energy generation with providing more water for the river to support recreation. The method found the benefits depended heavily on drought and energy prices.
Author: Génova et al., (2019)
Geography: Global
Level of Detail: Economic valuation
Availability: Paywall
Water Management Strategies: Land Management, Stream protection and restoration
Specific Benefits or Trade-offs: In stream flows, Land and environment, People and Community, Recreation
Economic valuation of river restoration: An analysis of the valuation literature and its uses in decision making
Economic valuation of river restoration: An analysis of the valuation literature and its uses in decision-making compares valuations of 38 river restoration projects. The majority of valuations used contingent valuation methods and focused on fish populations. Other valuations used revealed preference or stated preference and valued water quality, recreation, or other benefits.
Author: Bergstrom & Loomis, The University of Georgia, Athens (2016)
Geography: Global
Level of Detail: Economic valuation
Availability: Paywall
Water Management Strategies: Land Management, Stream protection and restoration
Specific Benefits or Trade-offs: Habitat and biodiversity, Land and environment, People and Community, Recreation
Hydro-economic models: Concepts, design, applications, and future prospects
Hydro-economic models: Concepts, design, applications, and future prospects discusses the role of economic valuation in water demand. The paper analyzed over 80 hydro-economic models to evaluate the ability of current models to include spatial and temporal components of water systems. This allows water managers to determine the value in decreasing system inefficiencies.
Author: Harou et al., University College London (2009)
Geography: Global
Level of Detail: Decision support tool
Availability: Paywall
Water Management Strategies: Water Conservation and Efficiency
Specific Benefits or Trade-offs: Demand changes, Water Supply
Quantifying the Potential Benefits of Land Conservation on Water Supply to Optimize Return on Investments
Quantifying the Potential Benefits of Land Conservation on Water Supply to Optimize Return on Investments uses economic valuation to determine specific spatial areas for conservation and development in the Catawba-Wateree Watershed. Using spatial models, potential conserved areas that would create the largest benefits were identified based on their reduction in sediment load. Other valuations such as air quality improvements from forest management are also considered.
Author: Eddy et al., The Water Research Foundation (2019)
Geography: Southern U.S.
Level of Detail: Economic valuation, Quantitative benefits
Availability: Paywall
Water Management Strategies: Land Management, Reforestation and forest conservation, Stream protection and restoration, Wetland protection and restoration
Specific Benefits or Trade-offs: Land and environment, Local economy, People and Community, Water quality
The Marginal Economic Value of Streamflow From National Forests
The Marginal Economic Value of Streamflow From National Forests uses water markets to estimate the marginal value of streamflow in surface water bodies originating in national forests. Evaluating 2,000 western U.S. transactions, the authors find the value of water varies widely with location. This indicates local evaluation is needed for accurate valuation and general valuations are only useful for rough estimates.
Author: Thomas Brown, U.S. Forest Service (2004)
Geography: Western U.S.
Level of Detail: Economic valuation
Availability: Publicly Available
Water Management Strategies: Land Management, Stream protection and restoration, Water Transfer
Specific Benefits or Trade-offs: In stream flows, Land and environment, Water Supply
The Effect of Low-Impact-Development on Property Values
The Effect of Low-Impact-Development on Property Values examines the added value to houses in a zip code in Seattle, WA with low impact development (LID). Homes with LID sold for 3-5% more than other homes with the same amenities. This indicates people value the aesthetic, economic, and natural benefits of LID on properties.
Author: Ward et al., ECONorthwest (2008)
Geography: Western U.S.
Level of Detail: Economic valuation
Availability: Publicly Available
Water Management Strategies: Conservation design, Distributed Stormwater Infrastructure, Low impact landscaping
Specific Benefits or Trade-offs: Aesthetics, Local economy, People and Community
A Meta-Analysis of Hedonic Studies to Assess the Property Value Effects of Low Impact Development
A Meta-Analysis of Hedonic Studies to Assess the Property Value Effects of Low Impact Development analyzed 35 different low impact development valuation studies across the United States. Distance and characteristics of the low impact development affect the hedonic valuation. The most robust determinants of willingness to pay are from locally available low impact developments.
Author: Mazzota et al., Atlantic Ecology Division, US EPA (2014)
Geography: U.S.
Level of Detail: Economic valuation
Availability: Publicly Available
Water Management Strategies: Conservation design, Distributed Stormwater Infrastructure, Low impact landscaping
Specific Benefits or Trade-offs: Aesthetics, Local economy, People and Community
The contribution of constructed green infrastructure to urban biodiversity: A synthesis and meta-analysis
The contribution of constructed green infrastructure to urban biodiversity: A synthesis and meta-analysis examines efficacy of green infrastructure in improving biodiversity. The authors examined 33 published green infrastructure cases that included quantification of biodiversity. The synthesis of these cases suggests there are significant biodiversity benefits. Some projects achieve levels of biodiversity found in undisturbed sites.
Author: Filazzola et al., University of Alberta (2019)
Geography: Global
Level of Detail: Qualitative description
Availability: Paywall
Water Management Strategies: Distributed Stormwater Infrastructure
Specific Benefits or Trade-offs: Habitat and biodiversity, Land and environment
Renaturing cities using a regionally-focused biodiversity-led multifunctional benefits approach to urban green infrastructure
This article, “Renaturing cities using a regionally-focused biodiversity-led multifunctional benefits approach to urban green infrastructure,” considers the biodiversity outcomes of case studies in three locations in Europe. The authors discuss the “multifunctional” design in these three case studies and conclude it is effective at improving biodiversity in urban settings.
Author: Connop et al., Sustainability Research Institute (2016)
Geography: Outside U.S.
Level of Detail: Case study
Availability: Paywall
Water Management Strategies: Distributed Stormwater Infrastructure
Specific Benefits or Trade-offs: Habitat and biodiversity, Land and environment, People and Community
Green Infrastructure Co-Benefits Valuation Tool
The Green Infrastructure Co-Benefits Valuation Tool is an Excel based economic valuation model. It calculates the net present value (NPV) for different green infrastructure investments. The tool is designed to introduce the potential benefits of a project, so environmental managers can get estimates before performing an exhaustive economic valuation.
Author: Kasey Armstrong, Green Infrastructure Leadership Exchange (2019)
Geography: U.S.
Level of Detail: Decision support tool, Economic valuation
Availability: Publicly Available
Water Management Strategies: Distributed Stormwater Infrastructure, Infiltration or filtration, Low impact landscaping, Runoff storage
Specific Benefits or Trade-offs: Flooding, Land and environment, People and Community
Green Infrastructure Evaluation Framework
The Green Infrastructure Evaluation Framework allows for people planning green infrastructure projects to identify and systematically calculate project benefits. Step one of the framework has a tool to identify all the different benefits that could be expected. Step two lays out how to collect and manage data to evaluate green infrastructure. Step 3 builds a structure on how to use the data, once collected, for communication inside and outside of the organization.
Author: National Recreation and Park Association (2019)
Geography: U.S.
Level of Detail: Qualitative description
Availability: Publicly Available
Water Management Strategies: Distributed Stormwater Infrastructure
Specific Benefits or Trade-offs: Air quality, Ambient water quality, Flooding, Habitat and biodiversity, Health and safety, Land and environment, Local economy, People and Community, Recreation, Urban heat island, Water quality
Building and Measuring Community Resilience: Actions for Communities and the Gulf Research Program
Building and Measuring Community Resilience uses a consensus study to examine how communities could become more resilient in the face of climate change and other disasters. They discuss 33 different resilience measurements and included input from stakeholders from eight different communities. This information is summarized into recommendations for developing resilience in communities and a table comparing different resilience metrics.
Author: Allen et al., National Academy of Sciences (2019)
Geography: U.S.
Level of Detail: Qualitative description
Availability: Publicly Available
Water Management Strategies:
Specific Benefits or Trade-offs: Extreme events, Risk and Resilience, System resilience
Environmental Valuation Reference Inventory
The Environmental Valuation Reference Inventory compiles over 5,000 studies of economic valuations of environmental health and services. It allows you to filter for type of document, area of study, environmental assets, economic measures, and other categories to find valuations of specific use to projects. To access the resource, you have to create a free account to log in.
Author: Canadian Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs (2019)
Geography: Outside U.S.
Level of Detail: Case study, Economic valuation
Availability: Publicly Available
Water Management Strategies: Land Management
Specific Benefits or Trade-offs: Land and environment, People and Community, Risk and Resilience, Water quality
An Analysis of the Demand for and Value of Outdoor Recreation in the United States
An Analysis of the Demand for and Value of Outdoor Recreation in the United States examines the valuation for 37 different recreational activities across the US in 1991. Travel cost method determined the total value for recreation in the United States was $122 billion annually at the time of study. Value of individual recreation activities was also calculated.
Author: Bergstrom & Cordell, USDA Forest Service (1991)
Geography: U.S.
Level of Detail: Economic valuation
Availability: Publicly Available
Water Management Strategies: Land Management, Reforestation and forest conservation
Specific Benefits or Trade-offs: Habitat and biodiversity, Land and environment, People and Community, Recreation
Recreation Use Values Database
The Recreation Use Values Database catalogs studies that place valuations on recreational activities and the species related to these activities. The database is a downloadable Excel spreadsheet that allows for specific recreational uses and species to be analyzed.
Author: Oregon State University (2016)
Geography: U.S.
Level of Detail: Case study, Economic valuation
Availability: Publicly Available
Water Management Strategies: Land Management
Specific Benefits or Trade-offs: Habitat and biodiversity, Land and environment, People and Community, Recreation
The Economic Value of Riparian Buffers
The Economic Value of Riparian Buffers provides analyses of current valuation of riparian buffers. The report discusses valuation from impact on residential property values and community value with a multiple benefit perspective. Benefits to community, air quality, flooding, habitat, and water quality are considered and further valuation research is suggested to better include those values.
Author: Young, American Rivers (2016)
Geography: U.S.
Level of Detail: Economic valuation
Availability: Publicly Available
Water Management Strategies: Land Management, Riparian buffers
Specific Benefits or Trade-offs: Aesthetics, Land and environment, Local economy, People and Community
A Framework for Estimating the Costs and Benefits of Dam Removal
A Framework for Estimating the Costs and Benefits of Dam Removal examines the case study of removing dams from the Snake River. The authors use this analysis to provide a list of recommendations for performing a cost benefit analysis on dam removal. They emphasize relying on simplistic endangered species vs endangered jobs can distort calculations and miss other important areas of economic growth.
Author: Whitelaw & Macmullen, ECONorthwest (2002)
Geography: U.S.
Level of Detail: Case study, Decision support tool, Economic valuation
Availability: Publicly Available
Water Management Strategies: Dam removals, Land Management
Specific Benefits or Trade-offs: Habitat and biodiversity, Land and environment, Local economy, People and Community
Bringing Water and Land Use Together
Bringing Water and Land Use Together discusses Integrated Regional Water Management. This strategy is similar to the multi-benefit framework and integrates multiple groups of stakeholders to find mutually beneficial solutions to water management issues. The report highlights case studies throughout California that have adopted different integrated management approaches. It provides lists of recommendations for different stakeholders attempting to engage in integrated management.
Author: Local Government Commission (2019)
Geography: Western U.S.
Level of Detail: Case study, Decision support tool, Qualitative description
Availability: Publicly Available
Water Management Strategies: Distributed Stormwater Infrastructure, Groundwater Management, Groundwater storage, Runoff conveyance, Urban indoor efficiency, Urban outdoor efficiency, Water Conservation and Efficiency, Water Transfer
Specific Benefits or Trade-offs: Community resilience, Flooding, People and Community, Risk and Resilience, Supply augmentation, System resilience, Water Supply
Plant Community Composition and Biodiversity Patterns in Urban Parks of Portland, Oregon
Plant Community Composition and Biodiversity Patterns in Urban Parks of Portland, Oregon examines the correlations between park attributes and plant communities. This research article shows significant relationships between park type and the presence of non-native or native species. It also provides analysis on which parks provide the best habitat for specific groups of species. The results help managers to optimize park plans to protect desired species and incorporate biodiversity benefits into design of green spaces.
Author: Talal & Santelmann, Oregon State University (2019)
Geography: Western U.S.
Level of Detail: Quantitative benefits
Availability: Publicly Available
Water Management Strategies: Land Management
Specific Benefits or Trade-offs: Habitat and biodiversity, Land and environment
COMET-Planner
The COMET-Planner provides estimates of greenhouse gas emissions for specific agricultural conservation practices. The tool allows for farmers and managers to select potential strategies and quantify the emissions based on the number of acres adopting the practice.
Author: USDA, Colorado State (2019)
Geography: U.S.
Level of Detail: Decision support tool, Quantitative benefits
Availability: Publicly Available
Water Management Strategies: Agricultural land management, Land Management, Reforestation and forest conservation, Riparian buffers
Specific Benefits or Trade-offs: GHG emissions, Land and environment
i-Tree
The i-Tree portal allows environmental managers to quantify benefits of urban and rural forestry. The website provides tools from the USDA Forest Service based on scientific studies to create tangible ecosystem services. These tools allow for the calculation of benefits from the parcel to state level.
Author: USDA Forest Service, Davey Tree Expert Company, Arborday Foundation, Society of Municipal Arborists, International Society of Arboriculture, Casey Trees, and SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (2019)
Geography: U.S.
Level of Detail: Economic valuation, Quantitative benefits
Availability: Publicly Available
Water Management Strategies: Land Management, Reforestation and forest conservation
Specific Benefits or Trade-offs: Aesthetics, Air quality, Carbon sequestration, GHG emissions, Habitat and biodiversity, Land and environment, People and Community, Recreation, Urban heat island
