An Integrated Assessment Model for Valuing Water Quality Changes in the United States

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) often requires expertise from environmental assessors, hydrologists, economists, and others to analyze the benefits of regional and national policy decisions related to changes in water quality. This led the EPA to develop two models to form an integrated assessment model: HAWQS is a web-based water quantity and quality modeling system, and BenSPLASH is a modeling platform for quantifying the economic benefits of changes in water quality. This paper discusses the development of the component models and applies HAWQS and BenSPLASH to a case study in the Republican River basin.