Impacts of Poor Water Quality on Adjacent Property Owners

The impact of poor water quality on adjacent property owners is assumed to be both positive and negative. A few water users who need large quantities are benefited by price reductions as quality decreases, most users are harmed. Redress for those who are harmed is difficult but possible with point dischargers. Nonpoint sources of pollution have the standard water quality problems but the addition of increased flow - or surge which produces erosion and sedimentation makes it far more difficult to obtain redress. Surges are the single largest cause of water quality loss in the state. Loss of property directly through erosion was measured along Flat Creek. A corresponding loss in the attributed property value also occurred from the surges. In Lake Lanier the deposition of the sediment load causes the effective loss in property value which is determined by proximity to the lake. It also causes loss in lake use and in the need for dock rampways to bridge the silted in cove. Surges can be controlled and normally this flow reduction aids in the ancillary water quality problems.

Sponsor

Sponsored and Organized by: U.S. Geological Survey, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, The University of Georgia, Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of Technology

Date

1997-03

Resource Type

Text

Resource Subtype

Proceedings

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