Abstract
Executive summary
This report provides a self-standing, detailed account of the work of an Environment Agency/SNIFFER R&D project, commissioned to make progress in the field of quantifying the benefits of hydrometric data-gathering networks. The work arises from an increasing need for UK hydrometric authorities to be able to quantify the benefits of their monitoring activities, and to relate these to their costs of operation.
The report is directed towards assessing benefits at the catchment scale, for networks of up to ten gauging stations. The results of such assessments will be appropriate to the comparison of benefits and costs of monitoring at a local scale, and are designed to support investigations of the effects of changing local gauging networks.
The research is based on an extensive review of the relevant literature, and a major survey of data users both within the UK agencies and also with external data users. It identifies a number of economic concepts which allow clearly identifiable user benefits to be translated into monetary benefits of hydrometric data use. A system of Approximate Cost Benefit Analysis is developed, as a framework for identifying and combining the quantified benefits of data usage for given catchment areas. For each benefit type, base values, representing typical user benefits, are produced on the basis of applying methods derived from the literature. These are then scaled according to local conditions in order to reflect actual benefit: scalings are applied for data accuracy, data representativeness and period of record as appropriate, and are adjusted to represent annual rates of benefit receipt.
The research identifies the need to represent those benefits of data use which are not amenable to quantification, and presents a checklist designed to allow a broad overview of the water resources and data use characteristics of a catchment. For completeness, a brief consideration of national monitoring needs is also presented. The checklist is designed to provide a context for subsequent economic assessment of benefits; quantitative and qualitative methods are therefore designed to be complementary.
The report presents an evaluation of the methods developed, noting the strengths of objective methods which can be used to assess the effects of possible future network changes, and also weaknesses, particularly in relation to the sometimes arbitrary nature of scaling factors. This evaluation forms the basis of recommendations for future research, and for development of the methodology into practise. Finally, comments are offered on the scope and format of a future R&D Note, in the form of a manual, which would allow hydrometric staff to use the methods for the review of current networks.
This report provides a self-standing, detailed account of the work of an Environment Agency/SNIFFER R&D project, commissioned to make progress in the field of quantifying the benefits of hydrometric data-gathering networks. The work arises from an increasing need for UK hydrometric authorities to be able to quantify the benefits of their monitoring activities, and to relate these to their costs of operation.
The report is directed towards assessing benefits at the catchment scale, for networks of up to ten gauging stations. The results of such assessments will be appropriate to the comparison of benefits and costs of monitoring at a local scale, and are designed to support investigations of the effects of changing local gauging networks.
The research is based on an extensive review of the relevant literature, and a major survey of data users both within the UK agencies and also with external data users. It identifies a number of economic concepts which allow clearly identifiable user benefits to be translated into monetary benefits of hydrometric data use. A system of Approximate Cost Benefit Analysis is developed, as a framework for identifying and combining the quantified benefits of data usage for given catchment areas. For each benefit type, base values, representing typical user benefits, are produced on the basis of applying methods derived from the literature. These are then scaled according to local conditions in order to reflect actual benefit: scalings are applied for data accuracy, data representativeness and period of record as appropriate, and are adjusted to represent annual rates of benefit receipt.
The research identifies the need to represent those benefits of data use which are not amenable to quantification, and presents a checklist designed to allow a broad overview of the water resources and data use characteristics of a catchment. For completeness, a brief consideration of national monitoring needs is also presented. The checklist is designed to provide a context for subsequent economic assessment of benefits; quantitative and qualitative methods are therefore designed to be complementary.
The report presents an evaluation of the methods developed, noting the strengths of objective methods which can be used to assess the effects of possible future network changes, and also weaknesses, particularly in relation to the sometimes arbitrary nature of scaling factors. This evaluation forms the basis of recommendations for future research, and for development of the methodology into practise. Finally, comments are offered on the scope and format of a future R&D Note, in the form of a manual, which would allow hydrometric staff to use the methods for the review of current networks.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Place of Publication | Bristol |
| Publisher | Environment Agency |
| Commissioning body | Environment Agency |
| Number of pages | 155 |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 1999 |
Publication series
| Name | R&D Technical Report |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Environment Agency |
| No. | W146 |
Keywords
- Hydrometric Networks
- Environmental Economics
- Benefit assessment