Human Dimensions of Water Quality Research
- Perceptions of Coastal Water Quality
- Recreation in Coastal Waters
- Coastal Nutrient Pollution
- Property Values and Water Quality
- Source Water Protection
- Public Engagement with the Science of Water Resources
Water is one of our most precious resources. We depend upon it for our livelihoods, healthy ecosystems and people, and a robust economy. To better protect this important resource, EPA scientists are conducting research on how people use and value clean water. This research includes a suite of approaches and studies that capture different aspects of the human dimensions of water quality. These address research questions focused on humans’ behaviors, knowledge, perceptions, and social and economic values related to water quality.
Perceptions of Coastal Water Quality
EPA scientists are conducting research that examines human perceptions of coastal water quality using surveys, focus groups, and content analysis coupled with spatial analyses of water quality. This work includes a review of findings from past research; the development of water quality perceptions scales for coastal waters; and analysis of the influence of various biophysical characteristics, such as commonly collected water quality measurements or nearby development, on water quality perceptions.
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Recreation in Coastal Waters
Perceptions of water quality influence people’s recreational experiences and choices. Understanding these perceptions helps EPA connect environmental measures with what people care about most. Water quality can enhance or adversely affect recreation, and in some cases, can impact human health. However, little is known about the economic value of recreation in coastal areas, especially in estuaries.
EPA scientists are conducting research to estimate the value of coastal recreation in New England using literature reviews, surveys and modeling. This research is providing practical and transferable methods to quantify the social and economic value of changes in water quality for recreation, including understanding how many people use coastal areas for recreation and the value people place on coastal recreation and protecting or improving water quality.
Research Publications
- Coastal Recreation in Southern New England: Results from a Regional Survey (2022)
- Evaluating Water Quality Impacts on Visitation to Coastal Recreation Areas Using Data Derived from Cell Phone Locations (2022)
- Geographies of Dirty Water: Landscape-Scale Inequalities in Coastal Access in Rhode Island (2022)
- How to Quantify Coastal Recreation in an Estuary: Methods for Estimating the Number of Participants and Value of Recreation for Coastal Access Points (2020)
- Using Data Derived from Cellular Phone Locations to Estimate Visitation to Natural Areas: An Application to Water Recreation in New England, USA (2020)
- Sense of Place and Water Quality: Applying Sense of Place Metrics to Better Understand Community Impacts of Changes in Water Quality (2020)
- Quantifying Recreational Use of an Estuary: A Case Study of Three Bays, Cape Cod, USA (2019)
- Valuing Coastal Beaches and Closures Using Benefit Transfer: An Application to Barnstable, Massachusetts (2018)
- The Application and Usefulness of Economic Analyses for Water Quality Management in Coastal Areas (2017)
- Economic Tools for Managing Nitrogen in Coastal Watersheds (2016)
Additional Research Resources
- Recreation in coastal waters research code packages and datasets
- Helping coastal communities address beach closures (EPA Science Matters article)
- EPA scientists develop method for estimating recreational visitors and value of Cape Cod estuaries (EPA Science Matters article)
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Coastal Nutrient Pollution
Although nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) are a natural part of aquatic ecosystems, excess amounts can cause water systems to become polluted. Nutrient pollution is among the most prevalent causes of water quality impairment in the United States and can adversely affect environmental and human health and the economy. Nonpoint sources of coastal nutrient pollution—excess nutrients that end up in coastal waters from multiple different natural and human-made sources—can be addressed using a wide variety of nutrient reduction approaches. However, understanding when and where to use a type of approach is a challenge for local decision makers tasked with reducing nutrient pollution. Some approaches have been more thoroughly tested, while others may be less expensive to implement but not as thoroughly tested.
EPA scientists are investigating several of the leading approaches being considered for nutrient pollution reduction in coastal areas, and the impacts of selecting and implementing different technologies on communities. Scientists at EPA are also investigating what factors drive household-level willingness to implement, and their experience with, novel approaches to nutrient management using focus groups and interviews. These studies will provide information that can inform difficult choices among technologies for local decision makers.
Research Publications
- When, Where, and How to Intervene? Tradeoffs Between Time and Costs in Coastal Nutrient Management (2021)
- A Resilience Framework for Chronic Exposures: Water Quality and Ecosystem Services in Coastal Social-Ecological Systems (2018)
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Property Values and Water Quality
Real estate markets are an ideal setting for researchers to observe and quantify people’s preferences and values for the environment and water quality. For example, home buyers might be attracted to open space and other environmental amenities but will try to avoid homes near polluted or contaminated sites.
Using data from select markets across the country, EPA researchers are investigating how water quality affects home values. This research explores whether water quality affects property values differently across regions of the U.S. and across types of waterbodies. It also provides information that can be used to support benefit analyses of public and environmental policies.
Research Publications
- Using benefit transfer to estimate housing value increases from improved water clarity: A case study of lakes in Kosciusko County, Indiana (2024)
- Hedonic property values and water quality: A meta-analysis of commodity, market, and methodological choices (2024)
- Valuing water quality in the United States using a national dataset on property values (2023)
- Property Values, Water Quality, and Benefit Transfer: A Nationwide Meta-Analysis (2022)
- Do Housing Prices Reflect Water Quality Impairments? Evidence from the Puget Sound (2019)
Additional Research Resources
- Property values and water quality: A nationwide meta-analysis and the implications for benefit transfer (2019 presentation)
Source Water Protection
Drinking water treatment plants often face declines in source water quality due to long-term changes in watershed conditions, such as increased agriculture runoff or wildfire frequency. These changes may occasionally result in temporary plant shutdowns and drinking water advisories that can significantly affect day-to-day human social and economic activities. In response, treatment plants may modify or augment existing treatment processes, but this could lead to higher water rates for consumers. Therefore, reduced source water quality can lead to a decrease in consumer welfare and an increase in treatment costs.
Drinking water treatment plants can take actions to protect source water from contamination before reaching their plants’ intake, including land acquisition, incentives for best management practices, and public education. Understanding the costs and benefits of protecting source waters versus augmenting treatment can help water managers select the most cost-effective ways to protect human health while minimizing water costs for consumers.
EPA scientists are conducting research to evaluate how changes in source water quality affect drinking water treatment costs and whether source water protection is a cost-effective solution.
Research Publications
- The Effects of Agricultural and Urban Land Use on Drinking Water Treatment and Costs: An Analysis of United States Community Water Systems (2020)
- The Effects of Source Water Quality on Drinking Water Treatment Costs: A Review and Synthesis of Empirical Literature (2018)
- Economic Support for Decisions on Source Water Protection (2018)
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Public Engagement with the Science of Water Resources
People can engage in science in a range of ways related to water quality and recreation. This can range from building literacy regarding environmental challenges, to collaboration with scientists in defining challenges and conducting experiments, to sharing experiential knowledge in both research and planning decisions. People engaged in science on water quality can help improve local preparedness for environmental challenges and improve equitable decision-making. Researchers studying public engagement with science can address needs like identifying key environmental communication challenges and barriers, determining best approaches to communicate risks and hazards, and applying how to most effectively engage diverse audiences in scientific research to address environmental challenges.
EPA researchers have conducted research on public engagement with water resources largely related to nutrient challenges, using interview and content review methods. This work has focused on capturing the perspectives of EPA researchers, key stakeholders, and recreators at various waterbodies to understand their experiences with solutions-driven research processes and their concerns with specific waterbody changes. Additional work has included developing plans and reports to ensure strategic communication with stakeholders throughout a solutions-driven project. This applied research aims to inform public engagement efforts at the state and town-level to more accurately meet community needs, and will inform future solutions-driven research projects at EPA.
Research Publications
- Using Researcher and Stakeholder Perspectives to Develop Promising Practices to Improve Stakeholder Engagement in the Solutions-Driven Research Process (2022)
- Messaging on Slow Impacts: Applying Lessons Learned from Climate Change Communication to Catalyze and Improve Marine Nutrient Communication (2021)
- Communication Planning in Solutions-Driven Research (2021)
- Designing Solutions for Clean Water on Cape Cod: Engaging Communities to Improve Decision Making (2020)
- Best Practices in Great Lakes Climate Communication (2021)
Additional Research Resources
- Technical Brief: How Shellfish Can Help Improve Water Quality (2021)
- Technical Brief: How Can Climate Change Communication Research Improve Communication About Nutrient Pollution? (2021)
- X Thread: Bog Nutrient Reduction (2020). This X thread shares a collaborative video on our transdisciplinary project engaging stakeholders in a nutrient management experiment on a cranberry bog.