• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.611-619
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• 2017

This paper intends to develop unit water production cost (UWPC) between alternative water resources including desalination, freshwater reservoirs, single-purpose dams, underground dams, and two indirect water in-take technologies - riverbank filtration and aquifer storage and recovery (ASR). The UWPCs of water supply schemes including each alternative are determined based on project cost, and operation and maintenance estimation models, which were developed based on real project cost data. The sensitivity analysis of UWPCs reveals that ASR is the lowest cost option in producing drinkable water among the alternatives, followed by riverbank filtration and underground dam. It is expected that economics related to the finding plays a critical role in supporting water resources planning and budget allocation for central and local water authority in Korea.