ABSTRACT
A random sample of residents was selected from the Denver metropolitan area and from Fort Collins, a smaller university town 65 miles north of Denver. Denver and Fort Collins are highly mobile communities and it was therefore necessary to have a current residential listing. Median family incomes were virtually identical for the sample and the population at about $14,000. Income distribution categories for the sample had slightly different brackets than the population data brackets. Benefits of water quality were estimated using two simulated market payment vehicles: general sales taxes and residential water service fees. Residents of both cities also were familiar with the practice of paying for wastewater treatment through monthly water service fees. The hypothesis to be tested was that nonusers as well as recreational users place a positive value on the preservation of water quality in the South Platte River Basin.
