Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2005NE83G

The impact of rural water supply systems on property values

Institute: Nebraska
USGS Grant Number:
Year Established: 2005 Start Date: 2005-09-01 End Date: 2007-09-01
Total Federal Funds: $62,728 Total Non-Federal Funds: $78,027

Principal Investigators: Steven Shultz, Jay Leitch

Project Summary: The impacts of three recent/pending rural water supply systems on agricultural and rural-residential property values across North Dakota from 2000 to 2004 will be estimated. Site specific data on the characteristics of real estate sales in 18 rural North Dakota counties (approximately 400 agricultural land sales and 150 rural-residential property sales) will be collected within a geographic information system (GIS) database. Digitized sale boundaries will be spatially intersected with land use, soil productivity, and transportation databases. Hedonic valuation method (HVM) based multiple regression models will be estimated separately for agricultural sales, and rural-residential property sales to determine how both existing and/or pending rural water supply systems impact rural property values. An understanding of how the water supply projects impact both agricultural and rural-residential property values will: Provide local, state, and federal authorities with an improved understanding of the indirect economic benefits of rural water supply improvements. Encourage property owners to support and pay for rural water supply projects. Assist county officials to more equitably assess and equalize both agricultural and rural-residential property taxes.