Economic considerations module: introduction | construction costs | operation and maintenance costs | safety and other liability risks | property value | recreational value | aesthetic value | ecological value | references | appendix

Aesthetic value

The aesthetics of a dam pond are those qualities that people might find beautiful or attractive; in the case of the body of water created behind a dam, it is easy to think of many reasons why people like to be around a small, clean, calm lake. Likewise, the aesthetics or attractive qualities of a free-flowing river (in the dam’s absence) are also easy to imagine. Aesthetic value, then, refers to how much the people in your community value the beautiful qualities of either the dam pond you have now, or the river that might take its place.

Calculating aesthetic value is fraught with the same valuation difficulties discussed in recreational benefits sections, and a similar methodology is suggested here to deal with these difficulties. In short, this section of the module is asking your community to make a dollar estimate of the aesthetic value of an impoundment and a free-flowing river. Again, the community survey included in another part of this guidance document contains questions that ask people to make these dollar estimates, so you may consider using that tool to gather information. Otherwise, you will have to gather this information by another means.

Once the survey information is collected, the goal is to create an average dollar amount representing how much one person values the aesthetic qualities of the lake and the river. For instance, if you collected 50 surveys whose reported values for river aesthetics summed to $1,000, then the average value would be $20. That is, each person in your community would then be said to value the aesthetic qualities of the river in an amount equal to $20.

The final step, then, is to multiply this figure by every person in your community (and you’ll have to decide in advance whom you want to include in this total population figure). Therefore, an example calculation for purposes of the worksheet would look as follows:

($20 per person estimate) x (5000 people in the community) = $100,000 total aesthetic value of the lake.

Repair

The aesthetic value under the repair scenario is the value of the lake. This may be the lake you currently have, and with which everyone is familiar. However, because the repair option may also include a development option, you may be more interested in determining the aesthetic value of the lake the way it will look after development. For instance, after the repair of a dam, perhaps you plan to dredge your impoundment to increase its depth and improve the water clarity.
 

Examples: Repair

Oak Street Dam, Baraboo River, Wisconsin

• Slow, long, and narrow flowage

Deerskin Dam, Deerskin River, Wisconsin

• Maintain view of 40-acre flowage with adjacent wetlands

Bloomer Dam, Duncan Creek, Wisconsin

• Maintain view of 98-acre lake

Ward Paper Mill Dam, Prairie River, Wisconsin

• Maintain 118-acre lake with wetlands adjacent to the upstream part of the lake

Removal

The aesthetic value of the river will have to be based upon prediction, because it doesn’t currently exist. However, by talking to knowledgeable people you may be able to get a pretty good idea of what the river will look like if the dam is removed. You are trying to estimate the aesthetic value of the river most likely to emerge from the dam removal (figs. 14 and 15). Experts from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources or another agency may be able to provide good idea about what the land around the old dam and impoundment will look like, possibly including computer-enhanced images. Once this is done, it will be possible to educate you community about what the area will likely look like in order to make a valuation through the survey.

Figure 14. Rockdale Dam Millpond, Koshkonong Creek, Wisconsin, before (top) and after (bottom) removal of the dam. (Photos courtesy of Tom Hooyer and Mike Czechanski, Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey.)

Figure 15. Sediments grow vegetation quickly after removal of the Woolen Mills Dam, Milwaukee River, West Bend, Wisconsin. Photos taken approximately one month apart. (Photos courtesy of Stephanie Lindloff, River Alliance of Wisconsin.)

Examples: Removal

Oak Street Dam, Baraboo River

• Riverwalk and new parks
• Improvement of the waterfront business district
• River with fast-flowing riffle

Deerskin Dam, Deerskin River

• Stream and riparian wetlands landscape
• Some cabins may lose view of water

Orienta Dam, Iron River, Wisconsin

• View of falls previously under the dam from observation deck that would be a part of the dam not removed.

Small Dam, Neponset River, Massachusetts

• This is the opinion of one resident near a dam removal: “Conventional wisdom would have us believe that were the dam removed we’d gain habitat for fish but lose a beautiful reflecting pool. As I see it, restored the river will still offer a reflecting surface but more…. Walk to the canoe launch at the upstream end of the park and sit at the Neponset’s edge. You’ll hear water tumbling over smooth river rocks and see fall’s colors reflected on the river’s surface.” Source: The Boston Globe, 10/10/99.

 

Next section: Ecological value

URL: http://www.ies.wisc.edu/research/wrm00/econaes.htm