UNM Grad Student Reports on Albuquerque Residents’ Willingness to Accept Costs Associated with Potable Water Reuse

UNM Grad Student Reports on Albuquerque Residents’ Willingness to Accept Costs Associated with Potable Water Reuse by Catherine Ortega Klett, NM WRRI Program Manager Jason G. Herman, a graduate student in the Water Resources and Community & Regional Planning Programs at UNM, in collaboration with Caroline E. Scruggs, Assistant Professor of Planning, have completed a survey of Albuquerque, NM residents on topics related to their level of acceptance of costs that would be incurred by the construction and maintenance of systems to augment the city water supply by recovering potable water from wastewater. The survey also queried the participants regarding their awareness and understanding of the need for ensuring an adequate supply of water in the face of anticipated increasing population demand and possibly enduring drought and climate change conditions for New Mexico in the future. The survey results will be posted on the NM WRRI website and viewable by clicking here. The relationship between the cost of a water reuse project and customer acceptance can be understood by seeking the customers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for the project in order to avoid future decreases in water supply reliability. This research uses previously determined cost estimates for water reuse facilities in Albuquerque and contingent valuation methods to estimate area resident’s WTP for water reuse. The work utilizes a “customer conversation” meeting-style setting to reveal the values and preferences of 50 Albuquerque area residents. Participants’ acceptance of potable reuse in general was found to be very high, with support for implementation of a potable reuse system in the Albuquerque area being slightly less popular. The study also found that at the lower cost levels studied, participants’ WTP was almost unanimous in approval, while, as expected, increasing levels of cost were less acceptable. The cost level that was acceptable to the participants approximately coincided with the estimated cost of a 25 million gallon per day indirect potable reuse facility in Albuquerque.