Within this watershed analysis, the MIPs associated with
the water quality variables are equivalent to the consumer's
marginal willingness to pay for the associated marginal or per
milligram per liter changes in TSS and DIN. For this localized
watershed this value represents the amount a property owner
would be willing to pay to avoid a one unit or milligram per
liter change or decline in water quality as measured by TSS or
DIN. Based on this value, total willingness to pay for a
marginal change in water quality within the watershed
would be equal to the sum of implicit prices across all property
owners within the watershed who are impacted. For marginal
changes of water quality within the watershed, a homeowner's
willingness to pay would be equal to the change in the
sale price of their property resulting from a change in water
quality. A negative MIP would indicate a decline in property
value associated with an increase in the TSS or DIN, which is indicative of a deterioration in water quality. Therefore if local
policy decisions regarding develop activities, adversely impact
water quality within the watershed, the result would be a
decline in welfare or net benefits associated with watershed
amenities to the property owners within the watershed, as
estimated by changes in total willingness to pay or property
values