Cover: Estimating the Value of Water-Use Efficiency in the Intermountain West
Read Online

Estimating the Value of Water-Use Efficiency in the Intermountain West

by David G. Groves, James Griffin, Sara Hajiamiri

Download

Download eBook for Free

Full Document

FormatFile SizeNotes
PDF file 0.5 MB

Use Adobe Acrobat Reader version 10 or higher for the best experience.

Summary Only

FormatFile SizeNotes
PDF file 0.1 MB

Use Adobe Acrobat Reader version 10 or higher for the best experience.

Purchase

Purchase Print Copy

 FormatList Price Price
Add to Cart Paperback88 pages $33.00 $26.40 20% Web Discount

Evaluating the cost-effectiveness of water-efficiency programs can be difficult, because not all the benefits are easily quantified. This report presents an economic framework based on two tools from the California Urban Water Conservation Council to estimate the avoided costs and environmental benefits of an agency’s efficiency programs. The report evaluates the benefits of Denver Water efficiency programs and uses an exploratory modeling approach to accommodate the significant uncertainty in such estimations. The results of this study suggest that the inclusion of long-run avoided costs and environmental benefits is critical to fully recognizing the value of water-use efficiency programs. The authors find that evaluating only the short-run avoided costs leads to the conclusion that many water-efficiency projects already a part of Denver Water’s 10-year conservation plan are not cost-effective. When long-run avoided costs and environmental and recreational benefits were factored in, all but two Denver Water programs were estimated to be cost-effective. The timing of projected water savings from efficiency programs is also critical. Water savings from programs that concentrate savings during summer months, when water is scarcer, should be valued higher than saving from programs that lead to more uniform water savings throughout the year, because these water savings reduce peak water needs.

Table of Contents

  • Chapter One

    Introduction

  • Chapter Two

    Denver Water Case Study

  • Chapter Three

    Case-Study Methodology

  • Chapter Four

    Results

  • Chapter Five

    Summary and Conclusions

  • Appendix A

    Avoided-Cost Model

  • Appendix B

    Environmental-Benefit Modeling

  • Appendix C

    Impact of Supply and Demand Changes on Long-Run Avoided Costs

  • Appendix D

    Efficiency-Program Cost Estimates

The research described in this report was sponsored by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and was conducted under the auspices of the Environment, Energy, and Economic Development Program (EEED) within RAND Infrastructure, Safety, and Environment (ISE).

This report is part of the RAND Corporation Technical report series. RAND technical reports may include research findings on a specific topic that is limited in scope or intended for a narrow audience; present discussions of the methodology employed in research; provide literature reviews, survey instruments, modeling exercises, guidelines for practitioners and research professionals, and supporting documentation; or deliver preliminary findings. All RAND reports undergo rigorous peer review to ensure that they meet high standards for research quality and objectivity.

This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited; linking directly to this product page is encouraged. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial purposes. For information on reprint and reuse permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions.

The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.