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External Costs of Land Subsidence Houston‐Baytown Area
Author(s) -
Warren John P.,
Jones Lonnie L.,
Lacewell Ronald D.,
Griffin Wade L.
Publication year - 1975
Publication title -
american journal of agricultural economics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.949
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1467-8276
pISSN - 0002-9092
DOI - 10.2307/1238407
Subject(s) - groundwater related subsidence , groundwater recharge , groundwater , subsidence , aquifer , hydrology (agriculture) , environmental science , flooding (psychology) , surface water , damages , geology , environmental engineering , geotechnical engineering , geomorphology , psychology , structural basin , political science , law , psychotherapist
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.