Clean Water Pays Off

How much does dirty water cost? If you live along the shores of Lake Champlain, a slight decrease in the clarity of the lake could eliminate your job or reduce the value of your home by thousands of dollars. Pollutants and harmful algal blooms can cloud the lake water, discouraging tourists and seasonal home buyers from contributing to the local economy. UVM researchers analyzed five years of data from lakeside towns to determine how these changes in water clarity affect certain economic metrics. 

The researchers used Secchi disk depth – the depth at which an opaque disk lowered into the water disappears from view – as an indicator of water clarity. By comparing home values, lodging revenues, tourism expenditures, and tourism-related jobs at different Secchi disk depths between 2010 and 2014, they were able to translate water clarity into monetary values. They also modeled the economic repercussions of future scenarios when the lake water might be more clear (if the amount of phosphorus entering the lake is reduced in accordance with Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) regulations) or less clear (if climate change accelerates the input of phosphorus to the lake). 

As the table below illustrates, incremental changes in water clarity can have striking consequences for the lakeside economy. A one-meter decrease in Secchi disk depth could lead to nearly $17 million in economic loss within the Lake Champlain Basin. Clear water in the lake is worth every penny – and it pays back.