The average willingness to pay per household was estimated to be $13 per month, or $156 per year. When multiplied by the number of households in California, the total benefits exceeded the $26 million cost of replacing the water supply by a factor of 50. One impact of the survey results was to change the nature of the debate over Mono Lake from "fish or people" to one that recognized that people care about fish and birds, as well as about inexpensive water supplies for Los Angeles.