Perth Laboratory – Public Seminar Series 2007

Household willingness to pay to avoid drought water restrictions: A case study of Perth, Western Australia

Dr Sorada Tapsuwan
Resource Economist
Policy and Economics Research Unit (PERU)
Water for a Healthy Country Flagship
CSIRO Land and Water

Thursday 25 October 2007 at 3.30pm, CSIRO Auditorium

Abstract

The development of new water sources to meet growing urban demand rarely takes explicit account of consumer preferences for the attributes of reliability, which affects the supply buffer required and the timing of augmentation; nor the non-market attributes of different source development options. This study examined consumer preferences for source development options and for avoiding outdoor water restrictions using choice experiments (CE). The study found statistical evidence that if households were willing to move away from the status quo (a scenario in which they would have to endure severe water restrictions) they would be willing to pay 22% more on their water usage bill to be able to use their sprinklers up to 3 days a week. Additionally, on average, households would pay a higher water bill of approximately 50% more to finance a new source of supply instead of enduring severe water restrictions.

About the speaker

Dr Sorada Tapsuwan is a Resource Economist with the CSIRO Policy and Economics Research Unit (PERU) which is part of the Society, Economy and Policy research program. Her work centres on the analysis of water policy issues and the application of economic instruments to assist in efficient management of water resources in the urban water supply system of Western Australia.

Dr Tapsuwan was awarded a PhD in Economics from the University of Queensland in 2006. Prior to that, she was working as a consultant for the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) in Bangkok and was involved in a project on creating an on ine virtual conference for disseminating good practice examples on integrating environmental consideration into economic policy making processes.

PowerPoint Presentation
(440 kB)

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