External Costs of Land Subsidence Houston‐Baytown Area

Groundwater withdrawal from underground aquifers in excess of natural recharge is causing land surface subsidence along the Texas coast. External costs of subsidence are estimated from a survey of damages and losses in property value in the Houston‐Baytown area of Texas. Estimates of total costs, primarily in fresh‐ and saltwater flooding, are used in a break‐even analysis to compare areal costs of groundwater to costs of water from surface sources. Substitution of surface water for all groundwater that results in subsidence is suggested as a means of minimizing total water costs to the area.