Abstract

VALDIVIA ALCALA, Ramón et al. Economic valuation of the quality of drinking water in León, Guanajuato. Rev. Mex. Cienc. Agríc [online]. 2022, vol.13, n.3, pp.527-538.  Epub Aug 08, 2022. ISSN 2007-0934.  https://doi.org/10.29312/remexca.v13i3.3168.

Water is a natural resource on which there is great pressure and problems in the world and in Mexico. In the aquifer of Valle de León, Guanajuato, there is scarcity, pollution and overdemand by the population of the metropolitan area of the City of León, one of the most populated in the country. Currently, the city is supplied mainly from the aquifers of Valle de León, with the expectation of receiving water from the Zapotillo dam. The objective of the research was to estimate the willingness to pay by consumers of drinking water for a better quality of the water consumed by the inhabitants, which is delivered to households by the Drinking Water and Sewerage System of León. The valuation method used was that of contingent valuation, which allows a monetary amount to be assigned to both the economic value of use and the non-use value (values of existence and legacy). Using a linear random utility model and making it operational through the logistic regression probability model, it was estimated that the willingness to pay of the city’s households is $182.00 per month. It is concluded that the estimated annual amount of $1.034 billion represents the consumer surplus on which the costs of building new infrastructure, improving the existing one and incorporating technologies by the agency in charge of the supply of drinking water and sewerage will be evaluated.

Keywords : random utility model; stated preferences; water scarcity; willingness to pay.

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