Investing in Water Quality

The restoration and maintenance of ambient water quality in the estuaries, lakes, rivers and streams of Latin America and the Caribbean are an enormous and costly undertaking that has only just begun to reverse decades of neglect. Deciding on water quality targets, how fast to achieve them and how much to invest is not easy in developing countries, where ambient water quality improvement competes for scarce financial resources. Investing in Water Quality explores the methods and analytical tools available for making better investment decisions when our knowledge of the costs and benefits of water quality improvement is imprecise and the future is uncertain. The study demonstrates how water quality and economic analysis models can be integrated to measure the net benefits of improvement in ambient water quality, quantify the degree of project risk introduced by imperfect knowledge, and reach informed investment decisions that reflect local preferences. This is an indispensable guide for anyone working to reduce urban water pollution in developing countries.