Economic Impact of Public Sewer Investments

Analysis Group was retained by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) to evaluate the economic impact of additional investments to control sewer overflows into area surface waters. EPA regulatory guidance requires investments in sewer controls to meet designated water uses unless those investments would cause "substantial and widespread economic and social impact." Standard EPA economic criteria suggested that additional investments could be made without such an impact. However, our analysis found that these criteria did not adequately account for important local economic conditions. We demonstrated that the economic impact of additional investments in our client's service area would significantly exceed impacts typically found in municipalities meeting the EPA's standard criteria for a "substantial and widespread economic and social impact."