Exploring Nontraditional Participation as an Approach to Make Water Quality Trading Markets More Effective1. (14th April 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Heberling, Matthew T.; Thurston, Hale W.; Nietch, Christopher T.
• Is Part Of: Journal of the American Water Resources Association. Volume 54:Number 3(2018:Jun.)
• Page Start: 586
• Page End: 593
• Publication Date: 2018-04-14
• Subjects: water quality trading -- nonpoint source pollution -- nontraditional participants -- nutrients -- water quality economics; Water-supply -- Periodicals; Hydrology -- Periodicals; Water resources development -- Periodicals; Water resources development -- Environmental aspects -- Periodicals; 333.9100973
• DOI: 10.1111/1752-1688.12648
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1093-474X

Abstract

Abstract: Water quality trading (WQT) has the potential to be a low‐cost means for achieving water quality goals. WQT allows regulated wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) facing discharge limits the flexibility to either reduce their own discharge or purchase pollution control from other WWTPs or nonpoint sources (NPSs) such as agricultural producers. Under this limited scope, programs with NPSs have been largely unsuccessful at meeting water quality goals. The decision to participate in trading depends on many factors including the pollution control costs, uncertainty in pollution control, and discharge limits. Current research that focuses on making WQT work tends to identify how to increase participation by traditional traders such as WWTPs and agricultural producers. As an alternative, but complementary approach, we consider whether augmenting WQT markets with nontraditional participants would help increase the number of trades. Determining the economic incentives for these potential participants requires the development of novel benefit functions requiring not only economic considerations but also accounting for ecological and engineering processes. Existing literature on nontraditional participants in environmental markets tends to center on air quality and only increasing citizen participation as buyers. Here, we consider the issues for broadening participation (both buyers and sellers) in WQT and outline a multidisciplinary approach to begin evaluating feasibility.