Valuing water quality advisories and beach amenities in the Great Lakes

Abstract

This paper presents estimates of the value of reducing beach advisories in Great Lakes beaches located along Lake Erie's shoreline in Ohio. Given the potential health consequences associated with swimming in contaminated water, health officials have made more effort in recent years to ensure that information about beach advisories is available through the media and other sources. A recent survey of over 800 single‐day beach visitors during the summer of 1998 found that nearly two thirds of visitors take advantage of this information when making decisions about their beach trips. When accounting for this information in a travel cost model, we find that the average (across all visitors) seasonal benefits of reducing one advisory is approximately $28 per visitor. Individuals who use the media in advance of trips gain less, approximately $24 per year, while those who use only signs posted at the beach would gain more, $38 per year.