AWWA CONS50880

The definition of conservation rates is being expanded beyond the simple notion of increasing blocks to arrive at a more formal definition of "true costs" based on the opportunity costs of water resource use. The present research aims to add to this redefinition by comparing prices resulting from existing pricing rules (in southwest Florida) with those estimated under a marginal opportunity cost formulation. In addition, a unique set of data for the study area provided the opportunity to examine how the estimated price levels change given different assumptions about permitted groundwater withdrawal. Includes 32 references, tables, figures.