AWWA MTC61184

This paper briefly discusses the development of an analytical tool for conducting a full social cost accounting-based assessment of the benefits and costs of reuse projects (for the WateReuse Foundation) with the hope of extending this to proposed desalination projects in California. The paper also proposes to develop case study illustrations of the benefit-cost framework to: help refine and guide the tool's development; demonstrate how the tool can be used to estimate and portray environmental and other costs and benefits of desal (and other source water alternatives) in an objective and comprehensive manner; and, reveal how the benefits of specific desal projects compare to their costs.