The Flushing Flow Cost: A Prohibitive River Restoration Alternative? The Case of the Lower Ebro River

38 Pages Posted: 22 Jul 2014

See all articles by Carlos Gomez

Carlos Gomez

Universidad de Alcalá

Carlos Pérez-Blanco

Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM), Venice

Ramon Batalla

University of Lleida

Date Written: July 21, 2014

Abstract

Although the effectiveness of flushing floods in restoring basic environmental functions in highly engineered rivers has been extensively tested, the opportunity cost is still considered to represent an important limitation to putting these actions into practice. In this paper, we present a two-stage method for the assessment of the opportunity cost of the periodical release of flushing flows in the lower reaches of rivers with regimes that are basically controlled by series of dams equipped with hydropower generation facilities. The methodology is applied to the Lower Ebro River in Spain. The results show that the cost of the reduced power generation resulting from the implementation of flushing floods is lower than the observed willingness to pay for river restoration programmes.

Keywords: River Restoration, Flushing Flows, Opportunity Costs, Hydropower, Ebro River

JEL Classification: Q2, Q25

Suggested Citation

Gomez, Carlos and Pérez-Blanco, Carlos and Batalla, Ramon, The Flushing Flow Cost: A Prohibitive River Restoration Alternative? The Case of the Lower Ebro River (July 21, 2014). FEEM Working Paper No. 068.2014, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2469094 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2469094

Carlos Gomez

Universidad de Alcalá ( email )

Madrid, Alcala de Henares 28801
Spain
+ 34 91 885 42 84 (Phone)
+ 34 91 885 42 39 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www2.uah.es/econ

Carlos Pérez-Blanco (Contact Author)

Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM), Venice ( email )

Campo S. M. Formosa, Castello 5252
Venezia, 30122
Italy

Ramon Batalla

University of Lleida ( email )

Victor Siurana 1
Lleida, LLEIDA 25003
Spain

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