Cost and Efficacy of Water Disinfection Practices: Evidence from Canada

Abstract

This study investigates the cost and efficacy of water disinfection practices using data from Canadian Municipal Water and Wastewater Survey. Since only a small number of municipalities use UV or ozone, this study investigates whether the dominant use of chlorine-based disinfectants is due to their efficacy in preventing microbiological problems or because UV or ozone imposes an unacceptably high financial burden on municipalities. The results suggest that the use of UV or ozone can lead to a lower likelihood of having microbiological problems and that the dominant use of chlorine-based disinfection cannot be based on cost comparisons alone.