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Cost-benefit analysis of the environmental impacts of Darvill Wastewater Works, Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal.
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | Sikhakhane, Sindisiwe S. |
| Copyright Year | 2002 |
| Abstract | Darvill Wastewater Works (DWWW) receives and treats both domestic and industrial wastewater from the city of Pietermaritzburg, in KwaZulu-Natal. Sludge from the wastewater treatment is sprayed onto surrounding lands, causing odour and fly problems. The plant also discharges treated effluent into the Msunduzi River, compromising water quality. This study uses several economic valuation techniques to estimate the value of the benefits of improving air and water quality to overcome these problems caused by DWWW. The benefits. are then compared with the costs of upgrading DWWW to see whether or not upgrading DWWW to improve air ·and water quality would be worthwhile. The Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) was used to elicit people's willingness to pay (WTP) for improvements in air quality due to the elimination of odours and flies caused by sludge deposited by DWWW. TheWTP estimates reflect individual's preferences for improvements in air quality. The stated WTP amounts were positively related to household income, but negatively related to the age and gender of the respondent and the number of dependants in the household. The mean monthly WTP for the surveyed households is higher for those that are closer to the pollution source (R23.00 and R29.00 for Zones land 2) and less for those further away (RI4.00 for Zone 3). Sobantu residential area had the lowest mean monthly WTP (RI 8.00), followed by Lincoln Meade (R27.00) and Hayfields (R54.00). This is expected, as Sobantu has relatively high levels of unemployment and lower household incomes. Strategic, hypothetical and free rider bias may have led to the unexpected signs of some estimated regression coefficients in linear regression models used to estimate WTP. The mean WTP was estimated as R307.20 per annum per household, and when this is aggregated over the totalpopulation in the residential areas impacted by odours and flies (37192 households), the benefits of eliminating odours and flies are estimated as RII 425 382.00 per annum. |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://researchspace.ukzn.ac.za/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10413/4906/Sikhakhane_Sindisiwe_S_2001.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=1 |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
