Hampson, D., Bateman, I., and Lovett, A. (2009) Benefits of reducing microbial river pollution. Poster presentation given at the Environment Agency ‘Better Environments, Better Lives’ conference, Birmingham. 27 February 2009.

1. Benefits of reducing microbial river pollution
This work is funded by the ESRC and the RELU Catchment Hydrology,
Resources, Economics and Management (ChREAM) project
Centre for Social and Economic Research on the Global Environment
Study area
Varied farming with many towns and cities
Main sources are
livestock farming
and sewage works
Health effects range
from nausea and
diarrhoea to severe
illness and death
Clean rivers have
lower health risks
Predicted water quality and
risk of illness: Summer 2004
If you would like to find out more,
or if you could help, please contact Danyel
01603 591545 or D.Hampson@uea.ac.uk
Danyel Hampson, Ian Bateman and Andrew Lovett, University of East Anglia
How do you want to
use rivers?
How much are you
willing to pay for
improvements?
Which scenario do you prefer?
CHOICE
A
No increase in
annual water bill
CHOICE
B
£25 increase in
annual water bill
Choice experiments will reveal the value of clean rivers
Just how highly
do people value
rivers?
economic
costs
economic
benefits
The cost of cleaning rivers is huge
Many improvements are mandatory, but some will not
be made if costs outweigh benefits
Many benefits of clean rivers do not have monetary
values and are NOT included in financial calculations
This research will uncover real monetary values held
by real people
Rivers must have ‘good ecological status’
Microbial
hazards