The Estimation of Economic Value of Municipal and Rural Water in Khuzestan Province

Water resource demand by attention to population growth is increasing, in other side; there are restriction on water resource supply because of drought and decreasing precipitations in recent years. So, using economic instrument such as economic value of water could be useful for optimum allocation between various consumptions and economic feasibility of water projects. In this study by using water market transactions and contingent valuation methods has estimated water economic value in municipal consumptions in Khuzestan province. Required data get from 154 questioners of a survey by using stratified random sampling in 2010 in Khuzestan province. Result indicated that economic value of pipeline water for all households in province is 4354 and for settled water purchased from market is 125000 Rial per cubic meter, respectively. Also, the most effective factors in willing to pay amount for households are monthly water consumption and monthly income, respectively.

JEL Classification: Q5