What Do We Know About Groundwater Values? Preliminary Implications from a Meta Analysis of Contingent-Valuation Studies

Groundwater is an important natural resourceproviding 35% of the public supply of potable water and 80% of the rural supply of potable water for domestic consumption and livestock watering (American Institute of Professional Geologists). The extensive use of groundwater in the United States, accompanied by varied threats to groundwater quality and a proliferation of laws and regulations being promulgated to protect groundwater resources, has motivated the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to take a serious look at the benefits and costs of