Watershed Management Bureau

  Lakes Management and Protection

    Report on the Economic Value of New Hampshire's Surface Waters

The Lakes, Rivers, Streams and Ponds Partnership has completed a four-phased study on the economic values of the surface waters of New Hampshire.

Phase I
Phase I included a preliminary assessment of the existing literature, data, and methodological approaches to estimating the economic value of surface water.

Phase II - Estimates of Select Economic Values of New Hampshire Lakes, Rivers, Streams and Ponds [pdf; 240 KB]
Phase II of the study provided estimates of the economic value from three recreational uses: fishing, swimming and boating, and two non-recreational uses: public drinking water supplies and waterfront property ownership for New Hampshire lakes, rivers, streams and ponds.

Phase III - Public Opinion Poll Results in the Study of Select Economic Values of New Hampshire Lakes, Rivers, Streams and Ponds [pdf; 128 KB]
The purpose of Phase III of the study was to ascertain public opinion about the relative importance of different freshwater attributes, such as overall beauty of the area, water quality, pollution, and crowding, when New Hampshire residents decide to use the state's surface waters for recreational purposes, and how residents' attitudes and behaviors would change if these freshwater attributes were altered.

Phase IV - The Economic Impact of Potential Decline in New Hampshire Water Quality: The Link between Visitor Perceptions, Usage and Spending [pdf; 588 KB]
Phase IV described the economic value that fishing, swimming and boating of New Hampshire freshwaters bring to the state by collecting primary data, and how that value might be affected by the quality of water resources, as perceived by the recreationalists who use them.