HOUSEHOLD WILLINGNESS-TO-PAY FOR IMPROVED RURAL WATER-SUPPLIES - A COMPARISON OF 4 SITES

The estimated willingness to pay for improved rural water supplies at four sites in the western United States ranges from $4.43 to $17.29 pe r household per month. These results are similar to other rural water supply studies. The modeling results and comparison with previous stud ies indicate that the contingent valuation method can provide useful e stimates of rural water supply benefits. This analysis provides inform ation useful to private and public officials who must determine where limited funds should be spent for water supply improvements. Water sup pliers and government analysts who do not have the resources to comple te site specific valuation studies can use general benefit criteria an d site specific factors presented in the analysis to target areas for water supply improvements. The range of benefits presented in the anal ysis can be used to help determine an acceptable level of costs for a proposed water supply project.