ABSTRACT:
The relationship between communities' water treatment costs and soil erosion is estimated. Twelve communities in Ohio's Corn Belt were selected for analysis. Independent variables, other than soil erosion, used in the analysis included treatment plant size, storage time of unmated water, and turbidity improvement due to water treatment. Results indicate that a 10% reduction in annual gross soil erosion results in a 4% reduction in annual water treatment costs. For Ohio communities, reduced annual water treatment costs would total $2.7 million, with a 25% reduction in soil erosion.
Footnotes
D. Lynn Forster is a professor, Chris P: Bardos is a graduate research associate, and Douglas D. Southgate is an associate professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology, Ohio State University, Columbus, 43210. This research was supported in part by the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center.
- Copyright 1987 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society
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