Duane Paul

How is water valued? It’s not the amount we pay our water providers to deliver water to our homes. That’s the price, which economists separate from value. And it’s not the amount spent by our water providers acquiring, treating, and delivering the water. That would be the cost, and because many water projects in this country have been built as public works by government agencies, the current cost of water to U.S. consumers does not necessarily reflect its value. Consequently, water’s worth, its value, is harder to pin down. But as our populations and industries consume ever more water, we need to consider just what water is worth to us. Read More