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Economic study of the effect of municipal sewer surcharges on industrial wastes and water usage
Author(s) -
Elliott Ralph D.
Publication year - 1973
Publication title -
water resources research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.863
H-Index - 217
eISSN - 1944-7973
pISSN - 0043-1397
DOI - 10.1029/wr009i005p01121
Subject(s) - business , municipal solid waste , agency (philosophy) , environmental science , natural resource economics , waste management , economics , engineering , philosophy , epistemology
Many cities in the United States are considering surcharges on industrial wastes having a strength greater than domestic wastes because (1) waste treatment costs have been rising, (2) taxpayers are reluctant to allow substantial increases in their water and sewer rates, and (3) the Environmental Protection Agency is requiring as a precondition for their grants that industries pay an equitable share of municipal waste treatment costs. Cities can make decisions about these charges by knowing the effect of surcharges on industrial wastes discharged into municipal systems and on the quantity of water demanded from municipal systems by industrial firms. Data obtained from 34 cities in the United States that have been using surcharges substantiated the negative relationships hypothesized among prices and quantities. Introducing an average surcharge of $27.00/1000 Ib of BOD causes a 45% reduction in industrial wastes. This surcharge also results in a 42% reduction in the industrial use of water. The level of confidence in these results is expressed in terms of probabilities in the final parts of the last two sections of this paper.