No Access

COST ANALYSIS METHODOLOGY FOR ADVANCED TREATMENT OF STORMWATER: THE LOS ANGELES CASE

Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, and School of Policy, Planning, and Development, University of Southern California, Andrus Center Room 201, MC-0193, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0193, USA

Search for more papers by this author

JOHN KUPRENAS

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Southern California, Kaprielian Hall Room 210, MC-2531, Los Angeles, CA 90089-2531, USA

Search for more papers by this author

JIIN-JEN LEE

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Southern California, Kaprielian Hall Room 210, MC-2531, Los Angeles, CA 90089-2531, USA

Search for more papers by this author

PETER GORDON

School of Policy, Planning, and Development, and Department of Economics, University of Southern California, Ralph and Goldy Lewis Hall Room 321, MC-0626, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0626, USA

Search for more papers by this author

HARRY RICHARDSON

School of Policy, Planning, and Development, and Department of Economics, University of Southern California, Ralph and Goldy Lewis Hall Room 321, MC-0626, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0626, USA

Search for more papers by this author

, and

QISHENG PAN

School of Public Affairs, Texas Southern University, Hannah Hall 334E, 3100 Cleburne St., Houston, Texas 77004, USA

Search for more papers by this author

https://doi.org/10.1142/S1609945104000127Cited by:1 (Source: Crossref)

Abstract

Cities in the United States can expect to be affected by proposed stringent stormwater treatment plans and standards set to be triggered by existing Federal policy-making requirements. In Los Angeles, these standards require three levels of treatment of all stormwater before it is discharged into a public body of water. This work presents a methodology for conceptual cost budgeting for these new required treatments, and describes methodologies and cost modeling tools needed for assessment of city and regional economic impacts associated with construction and operation of these plants. The research is case-study-based, and presents nine different cost analysis scenarios based on different strategies for determination of rainfall, locations of plants, and size of plants.

The cost and size of the new collection and treatment facilities increases substantially if they are designed to accommodate a larger share of expected annual rain events. It will cost about six times more to build a system that can treat storm flows from 97% of the region's annual average storm days than it would to build to a 70% standard. This additional cost achieves about nine additional days of storm flow coverage. In addition, if stormwater treatment facilities are financed locally and constructed over a twenty-year period, most communities in the greater Los Angeles area would experience very significant employment and net economic losses.

Keywords:

References

Brown and Caldwell (1998). Costs of storm water treatment for Los Angeles NPDES permit area. Prepared for the California Department of Transportation . Google Scholar
S. B. Choet al., Review of Urban and Regional Development Studies 12, 212 (2000), DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-940X.2000.00081.x. Crossref, Google Scholar
S. B. Choet al., Journal of Regional Science 41, 39 (2001), DOI: 10.1111/0022-4146.00206. Crossref, Google Scholar
F. D. Clark and A. B. Lorenzoni, Applied Cost Engineering (Marcel Dekker Inc., New York, 1997) pp. 31–32. Google Scholar
County Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County (2002). Review of the report "Caltrans cost of storm water treatment for the Los Angeles County NPDES permit area." Memorandum of April 29 . Google Scholar
Engineering News Record (2002), 249 (25), "Most Recent Cost Indexes Listed in ENR's July 8 Issue," available from http://enr.construction.com/features/conEco/costIndexes/mostRecentIndexes.asp, Internet, accessed July 30, 2002 . Google Scholar
Environmental Protection Agency (May 18, 2000). Water Quality Standards; Establishment of Numerical Criteria for Priority Toxic Pollutants for the State of California, Federal Register, 65(97), 40 CFR Part 131 . Google Scholar
Gordon P., Kuprenas J., Lee J.-J., Moore J. E. II, Richardson H. W. and Williamson C. (November, 2002). An economic impact evaluation of proposed storm water treatment for Los Angeles County. School of Engineering and the School of Policy Planning and Development, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089 . Google Scholar
Los Angeles County Department of Public Works (2002). Historical daily rainfall records at various monitoring stations in LA County from 1925 to 2001. Computer data files retrieved June, 2002 . Google Scholar
Minnesota IMPLAN Group, Inc. (2003). Products, http://www.implan.com/products/products.htm, Internet, accessed December 30, 2003 . Google Scholar
K. Phaobunjong and C. M. Popescu, Parametric cost estimating model for buildings, 2003 AACE International Transactions, 47th Annual Meeting (American Association of Cost Estimators, Orlando, 2003) p. EST.13.2. Google Scholar
Stanly R., Hoffman Associates (1998). Financial and economic impacts of storm water treatment, Los Angeles County NPDES permit area. California Department of Transportation Environmental Program . Google Scholar
State of California, California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Los Angeles Region (December 13, 2001). Waste Discharge Requirements for Municipal Storm Water and Urban Runoff Discharges within the County of Los Angeles, and the Incorporated Cities Therein, Except the City of Long Beach. Order No. 01-182, NPDES Permit No. CAS004001 . Google Scholar
State of California, California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Los Angeles Region (February 23, 1995). Water Quality Control Plan: Los Angeles Region. State Water Resources Control Board and the State Office of Administrative Law, Sacramento . Google Scholar