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A FRAMEWORK FOR VALUING THE HEALTH BENEFITS<br />

OF IMPROVED BATHING WATER QUALITY IN THE RIVER<br />

IRVINE CATCHMENT<br />

EK Johnson 1 , D Moran 2 and AJA Vinten 3<br />

1<br />

592 Quail Court Kingston, Ontario, K7M 8Z3, Canada, E-mail: elaine_k_johnson@<br />

hotmail.com; 2 Land Economy and Environment Research Group, SAC, West Mains<br />

Road, Edinburgh EH6 5AT, UK; 3 Macaulay Land Use Research Institute, Craigiebuckler,<br />

Aberdeen, AB15 8QH, UK<br />

SUMMARY<br />

A model predicting bathing water concentrations of Escherichia coli from livestock<br />

in the Irvine catchment h<strong>as</strong> been adapted for faecal streptococci (FS). This h<strong>as</strong> been<br />

used to predict risk of bather illness by extrapolation of published data on bather FS<br />

exposure vs. incidence of g<strong>as</strong>tro-enteritis. Simulated reduction in the risk of illness<br />

by reduced faecal loading w<strong>as</strong> multiplied by a willingness to pay for risk reduction<br />

to estimate the annual benefits of mitigation. Benefits of reducing loading by 95% at<br />

Irvine Beach were about £600 k pa. Estimated annualised costs of best management<br />

practises (BMPs) across the catchment were higher (> £1 m), and it is very unlikely<br />

that 95% mitigation is achievable with current stocking rates. However, more work<br />

on calibration and validation of this framework is needed.<br />

INTRODUCTION<br />

Current research is exploring applications of BMPs which reduce agriculture’s<br />

contribution of faecal bacteria to co<strong>as</strong>tal bathing waters. An economic incentive<br />

is required for implementation of these me<strong>as</strong>ures. This paper presents a draft<br />

framework for valuing the health benefits to society of reducing faecal loading to<br />

bathing waters which may be achieved through BMP implementation. By relating<br />

a BMP-induced reduction in faecal loading to a decre<strong>as</strong>e in risk of illness, benefits<br />

can be calculated using an estimate of society’s willingness to pay for reduction in<br />

swimming-<strong>as</strong>sociated illness.<br />

MODEL FRAMEWORK<br />

Three components were involved in evaluating reduced faecal loading in the<br />

Irvine catchment in Ayrshire (Figure 1). These will subsequently be linked to cost/<br />

effectiveness of mitigation.<br />

Predict<br />

Bathing Water<br />

Quality<br />

Relate Bathing<br />

Water Quality to<br />

Risk of Illness<br />

Determine Value of<br />

Reduced Faecal<br />

Loading<br />

Justification of BMPs???<br />

Figure 1: Steps involved in determining the value of faecal loading reductions<br />

in the Irvine catchment<br />

211

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