Browse > Article
http://dx.doi.org/10.9719/EEG.2014.47.3.219

A Cost-Benefit Analysis of Groundwater: Pumping Wells in Korea  

Kim, Sun Geun (Daejeon University)
Publication Information
Economic and Environmental Geology / v.47, no.3, 2014 , pp. 219-225 More about this Journal
Abstract
In Korea, there are 1,474 thousand pumping wells nationwide which account for about 12% of total water use in 2012. As much as 39 hundred million tons of groundwater were used while 333 hundred million tons of total water were supplied in 2012. Because the water management authority projects that water demand will exceed supply by 2021, the authority is planning to extensively expand groundwater use in accordance with economic feasibility. Using the basic frameworks of cost-benefit analyses of the World Bank and the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), the objective of this study is to examine the costs and benefits of the expansion of Korea's groundwater extraction through pumping wells. We conclude that the BC ratio of the groundwater pumping wells is 2.98. This signifies that the benefits are 2.98 times higher than the costs. The benefits include use and non-use values of pumping wells while the costs include the installation and maintenance of new wells, in addition to the restoration and pollution costs of abandoned wells, as well as fees for water quality tests, etc.
Keywords
pumping well; cost-benefit analysis; groundwater;
Citations & Related Records
연도 인용수 순위
  • Reference
1 Ministry of Construction and Transportation (2005) Longterm Plan of Water Resource (2006-2020), p.24.
2 Sohn, M.S. (2009) Economic Valuation Method for Soil and Groundwater, Regional Studies, v.25, n.2, p.83-102.
3 US Environmental Protection Agency (1995) A Framework for Measuring the Economic Benefits of Ground Water, EPA 230-B-95-003.
4 Alvaro, Calzadilla, Katrin, Rehdanz and Richard, S.J. Tol (2010) The economic impact of more sustainable water use in Agriculture: A computable general equilibrium analysis. Journal of Hydrology, 384, p.292-305.
5 K-Water (1995-2013) Yearbook of Groundwater.
6 Kim, S.G. (2003) The Analysis of the economic impact of Geoscience and Mineral Resources Research, Research Report, Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, p.89-90.
7 Kim, S.G. (2013) Cost-Benefit Analyses of national groundwater resources, Research Report, Ministry of Construction and Transportation, p.95-157.
8 Kim, S.G. and Kim, G.B. (2013) A Cost-benefit Analysis of Riverbank Filtration and Groundwater Recharge in Korea, A Poster Presentation, The 2nd Water International Research Conference held in Singapore, Susana Publications.
9 Korea Development Institute (KDI) (2008) A study on the standard guideline of a preliminary feasibility study of water resources related project.
10 Lee, C.S., Park, K., Choi, S.A. and Shim, M.P. (2006) Efficient Water Allocation by Applying Law of Equi-marginal Utility of Water Deficit Damage Functions, Korea Water Resource Association, Workshop Proceeding, p.286-287.
11 World Bank (2007) Sustainable Groundwater Management, Briefing Note Series, Note 9, p.54.