Christina's Assignment Previous Groundwater Remediation Techniques Next Global Outlook and Conclusions 

Cost of Groundwater Pollution 

     Groundwater contamination is an expensive problem. The National Research Council (NRC) [46] estimated the cost of cleaning the groundwater at approximately 300,000 to 400,000 contaminated sites in 1994 as high as $1 trillion over the following 30 years.  In 1996 the total spending on environmental remediation in the United States was estimated at $9 billion[47]. For an individual site, it is averaged at approximately $20 million dollars for total clean up activities[48].  At military sites, the DOD has invested billions of dollars in environmental restoration.  From 1995 to 2005, the DOD spent approximately $20 billion for the cleanup of contaminated sites, including remediation of contaminated groundwater on and around active, closing, and formerly used defense facilities [49]. In 2004 alone, the cost was approximately $1.7 billion. 

     The total cost of groundwater contamination includes more than the expense of remediation.  Opportunity costs and the value of the groundwater resource must be considered.  With this in mind, two factors have been identified that affect the cost of groundwater contamination; the current and future usage of the groundwater and the physical characteristics of the settings that limit actions available to regain lost uses or prevent relevant damages to human health and the environment [50].  

     Groundwater gets its value by its usage whether it is for municipal, industrial, or irrigation purposes.  When groundwater is contaminated and cannot be restored or the usage is lost, the cost of contamination is equal to the benefits of the clean aquifer [50]. However, most contaminated groundwater can be remediated and in these cases the cost is represented as the expense of the remedy efforts and not the use value [50].   In addition to the current usage of the groundwater, the future usage of the groundwater has a cost.  A study in Cape Cod found that the cost of protecting the aquifer from nitrate contamination for future usage ranged from $5million to $25 million per 1000 households [50].  

     The adverse health and ecological effects caused by contaminated groundwater are also a part of its total cost.  This cost mostly comes from preventing the adverse effects, which can be achieved by containment and remediation, treatment, and replacement.   The average cost of remedial actions at Superfund sites is estimated to be $8 million [50].  Treatment and replacement costs depend on the size and type of system.  For large municipal systems the costs are not as drastic as for the small private systems, which can add up to several hundred dollars to the household cost of water supply per year for treatment and can cost $5000 to $7000 dollars for installation of a new well  [50].

                                                                              Previous Groundwater Remediation Techniques Next Global Outlook and Conclusions