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Putting A Price On Riparian Corridors As Water Treatment Facilities

The monetary value of natural riparian environments that provide water quality treatment functions by processing nutrients, storing sediment, moderating temperatures, and other services can be estimated by calculating the costs associated with the construction of brick and mortar water treatment plants built to achieve similar functions. A demonstration urban runoff treatment plant built by the City of Santa Monica provides similar services as a 4,000-5,000 lineal foot riparian corridor does, and has annualized costs of approximately $730,000 per year over a 20-year period taking into account the revenues the plant may accrue by selling its recycled water. The annualized costs for similar water quality treatment services provided by a natural riparian system were estimated by recording the costs of protective easements, fee acquisition, and restoration of riparian areas located in an urban context. A large, federally-funded, multi-objective flood control project with water quality benefits annualized over 20 years has about the same costs as the treatment plant. Urban stream restoration projects for 5,000 lineal feet of stream with riparian habitat can range in cost from $15,550 to $155,000 per year annualized over 20 years. Cost estimates of a range of restoration scenarios are given, including land acquisition and maintenance costs. While costs for all the alternative water treatment scenarios were given in 2005 dollar values and annualized over 20 years for purposes of comparison, most riparian restoration projects will be providing benefits over a 100 year period or in perpetuity, while the life span of the structural plant is expected to be 20 years or less. Cost Comparisons: Man-made Systems- Naturally Occurring Systems The first of its kind, state-of-the-art stormwater treatment plant located in Santa Monica, California gives us the opportunity to compare the benefits and costs of a physical “brick and mortar” stormwater facility with the benefits and costs of naturally occurring or restored riparian environments while evaluating their respective abilities to affect the quality of stormwater runoff. The Santa Monica Urban Runoff Recycling Facility (SMURRF) collects polluted runoff from the Los Angeles area and reclaims it sufficiently so that it can be re-used for landscape irrigation or dual plumbing systems. The plant came on line in February 2001 and is located near the Santa Monica pier. The building design involved a collaboration of engineers and artists. The plant features interesting architecture, art, and on-going visitor tours with public education about urban stormwater runoff, making this interesting, pioneering engineering facility an engaging