One Water Econ’s team members have applied economic impact analysis and non-market valuation techniques to demonstrate the value of water. For example:

One Water Econ’s team members are currently working with Raftelis Financial Consultants to assess the value and impact of Charlotte Water’s services on the local economy. This includes the positive impacts of spending on water infrastructure, providing reliable water and wastewater services, and supporting economic growth.

For the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District and Cleveland Water Alliance, Ms. Clements assessed the economic, social, and environmental values associated with “clean water” in the Lake Erie region of Northeast Ohio. The study included an extensive literature review, interviews with key stakeholders, and estimating values related to economic development, avoided utility infrastructure and treatment costs, recreation and tourism, public health, property values, ecosystem services, and water supply reliability.

Ms. Clements co-managed a project for the WateReuse Foundation to estimate the value of water supply reliability for residential customers that may face drought-related water use restrictions. The project entailed conducting an Internet-based survey of 1,600 households in four utility service areas to estimate household willingness-to-pay to avoid varying levels of water supply shortfalls and water use curtailments.

For the National Ocean Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of Coastal Management, Ms. Clements led a project to assess the ocean dependency of the economies of Puerto Rico and USVI. This work involved analyzing relevant federal and local data sources and conducting in-person meetings with key stakeholders to better understand the value of ocean-related economic activity.

Over the past decade, Ms. Clements has worked for Denver Water on several engagements to examine factors that influence water use within the service area. Most recently, she led a project to assess the affordability of water rates within the Denver Water service area, using billing and tax assessment data to examine average household water use and associated household bills at the neighborhood and Census-tract level. This work included examining water use by income level for both single- and multi-family households. As her first project with Denver Water, Ms. Clements examined the price elasticity of water demand and applied estimates from the literature to examine changes in residential water demand under different rate scenarios.

For the City of Phoenix, Ms. Clements used spatial analysis, survey-based research, county assessor information, and residential water-use data to evaluate factors affecting residential indoor and outdoor water uses. She also led an analysis of single-family residential water use in Phoenix, using time-series data to identify trends in water use. Phoenix used the results of this analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of drought management and identify effective conservation strategies for pilot implementation. More recently, Ms. Clements developed regression models to estimate single-family residential water demand based on weather, household, and neighborhood characteristics for three neighborhoods in Phoenix. The goal of this exercise was to create an index of total water use to show yearly water demand variation because of weather. In the future, this analysis will help Phoenix Water plan for differences in water use driven by climate change.

As part of a team funded by USAID, the World Bank, and the World Meteorological Organization, Ms. Clements served as one of nine lead authors to develop guidelines for national meteorological organizations to assess the socioeconomic benefits of meteorological and hydrological (met/hydro) services. She authored a chapter on how to evaluate the benefits of met/hydro services, including incorporating environmental and social values. She also led the development of nine case studies included in the guidelines.

As part of a larger project for USAID, Ms. Clements helped to evaluate the effectiveness of the Caribbean Agrometeorological Initiative (CAMI) in meeting its objective to support agricultural productivity in the Caribbean region through improved dissemination and application of weather and climate information. The project identified areas of success, as well as where more work is needed, and made recommendations regarding priorities for future climate services work.

As part of USAID’s Climate Change Resilient Development Project, Ms. Clements co-authored a white paper on a framework that planners can use to evaluate alternative adaptation options. The framework includes screening adaptation options based on multiple criteria and applying the appropriate level of analysis when the choice between options is not clear.

Ms. Clements evaluated FEMA’s current guidance for developing State Hazard Mitigation Plans and developed a series of recommendations on how the agency can better incorporate climate change into its planning process. These recommendations were submitted to FEMA as part of an open public comment period.

Ms. Clements completed a project for the United Nations Development Program and the Government of Rwanda (GoR) to assess the costs of implementing water resource management options in line with the country’s green growth strategy for becoming a climate-resilient economy by 2050. This project included working with the GoR and other key stakeholders to identify targets for Integrated Water Resource Management, developing scenarios for meeting those targets in line with the country’s green growth strategy, and providing cost estimates for those scenarios. The GoR used the results to assess the costs of a more sustainable approach to water resources management compared to “business-as-usual.”

One Water Econ’s team members have developed Triple Bottom Line-based benefit-cost analyses of dozens of water supply and related projects. This includes projects submitted to the State of California for Integrated Regional Water Management Implementation Grants by 12 regional groups of utilities. Our analyses include the assessment of a broad spectrum of environmental and social benefits, for a wide range of projects, including water reuse; green infrastructure; flood control, stormwater management; desalination; invasive species removal; reservoir expansion or inter-ties; seismic upgrades; aquifer storage and recovery; and water conservation.

Ms. Clements led this project to develop a framework and methodology that local utilities and governments can use to assess the benefits and cost-effectiveness of water reuse, efficiency, and recapture projects when applying for project funding under the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF). The overall objective is to help applicants develop and analyze a range of project alternatives when evaluating potential CWSRF projects, including both traditional and non-traditional infrastructure alternatives, and select the option or mix of options that best meets the needs of the utility and the community it serves.

Ms. Clements served as a member of a six-person expert panel convened by the California Coastal Commission and Poseidon Water to evaluate the feasibility of subsurface intake technologies for a proposed desalination facility in Huntington Beach, California. As a member of the panel, Ms. Clements evaluated a broad range of factors associated with various intake alternatives, including scale, cost, energy use, and characteristics related to site requirements and environmental and social concerns consistent with the Coastal Act's definition of feasibility.

Ms. Clements conducted socioeconomic impact analyses for several large water supply projects in Colorado, including the Southern Delivery System (SDS) and Northern Integrated Supply System Large-Scale Water Supply Projects. This work included evaluating potential effects on irrigated agriculture, municipal water rates, recreation, tourism revenue, and the regional economy. For the SDS EIS, she completed an evaluation of potential environmental justice impacts.