Recent adjustments in water use and treatment by U.S. manufacturers

Abstract

This paper seeks to provide two types of information on the trends in water reuse and water treatment by manufacturers in the U.S. The first type of information is simply a display and discussion of these trends for the period 1964–1968 for the largest water using industries, based on the most recent comprehensive data. Sizable adjustments in reuse and treatment are found both in aggregate and for individual industries. The second type of information concerns the extent to which the adjustments in reuse and treatment observed over the period can be viewed as responses made to changes in the price of water to manufacturers, broadly defined. Tests of the price/quantity and price/treatment relations are made using regional observations on four major water using industries. The results show this to be a profitable approach to analyzing such adjustments, although the weakness of the data do not permit reliable quantification of the effects of the individual “price” variables.