Economic Benefits of Delaware Watersheds

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map of Delaware watershedsPartial Abstract of “Economic Benefits and Jobs Provided by Delaware Watersheds”

The water, natural resources, and ecosystems contained in Delaware’s watersheds are an economic engine for the state.  These resources provide tremendous economic value to the state and the surrounding region.  This report examines that value in three distinct ways:

  • Economic value directly related to the Delaware’s water resources and habitats
    Using economic activity as a measure of value, Delaware watersheds contribute over $6 billion in annual economic activity from water quality, flood control, water supply, fishing and wildlife viewing, recreation, agriculture, ports, forests, and parks.
  • Value of the goods and services provided by the Delaware’s ecosystems
    Using ecosystem goods and services as a measure of value, the ecosystems of Delaware provide $6.7 billion annually in goods and services in 2010 dollars, with a net present value of $216.6 billion calculated over a 100-year period.
  • Employment related to Delaware’s water resources and habitats
    Using employment as a measure of value, Delaware’s water resources and habitat directly and indirectly support over 70,000 jobs with over $2 billion in wages annually.  This does not include the thousands or, perhaps, millions of jobs in companies and industries that rely on Delaware’s waters for their industrial and commercial processes.

The purpose of these estimates is to demonstrate that Delaware watersheds provide real and significant economic benefits to the state and are worthy of investment to keep them healthy and productive.  All were made by taking values from existing literature and studies and applying them to Delaware using ecological economics and benefits-transfer techniques described in this report.

It is important to note that the values in the three categories above cannot be summed because there is some measure of overlap between certain values within each category that could result in double counting.  For example, the jobs of fishermen that contribute to employment and wages are also a factor in the economic activity generated from fishing, and the ecosystem values of forests for water-quality benefits should be at least partially captured in the economic value of water supply.  Accurately determining (and eliminating) this overlap is difficult, if not impossible, within the scope of this analysis. However, each of the above estimates clearly indicates Delaware watersheds are an economic engine that contributes between $2 billion and $6.7 billion annually to the state’s economy.