Enhancing Britain’s rivers: an interdisciplinary analysis of selected issues arising from implementation of the Water Framework Directive

Abstract

The Water Framework Directive requires reduced environmental impacts from human activities and for the assessment of the non-market benefits of pollution remediation schemes. This policy shift has exacerbated the research problems surrounding the physical, social and economic consequences of the relationship between land use and water quality. This research seeks to quantify the major socio-economic and environmental benefits for people which may arise as riverine pollution is reduced. To achieve these aims this research integrates primary data analyses combining choice experiment techniques with geographical information system based analyses of secondary data concerning the spatial distributions of riverine pollution. Current knowledge on the microbial quality of river water, measured by faecal indicator organism (FIO) concentrations and assessed at catchment scale, is inadequate. This research develops generic regression models to predict base- and high-flow faecal coliform (FC) and enterococci (EN) concentrations, using land cover and population (human and livestock) variables. The resulting models are then used both to predict FIO concentrations in unmonitored watercourses and to evaluate the likely impacts of different land use scenarios, enabling insights into the optimal locations and cost-effective mix of implementation strategies. Valuation experiments frequently conflate respondents’ preferences for different aspects of water quality. This analysis uses stated preference techniques to disaggregate the values of recreation and ecological attributes of water quality, thereby allowing decision makers to better understand the consequences of adopting alternative investment strategies which favour either ecological, recreational or a mix of benefits. The results reveal heterogeneous preferences across society; specifically, latent class analysis identifies three distinct groups, holding significantly different preferences for water quality. From a methodological perspective this research greatly enhances the ongoing synthesis of geographic and economic social sciences and addresses important policy questions which are of interest to a variety of stakeholders, including government departments and the water industry.