Hedonic Analysis of Willingness to Pay for Dam Removal: Evidence from Plymouth, Massachusetts.

Cahill, Michael¹, Nikolay Anguelov², ¹Department of Marine and Environmental Affairs, Plymouth, MA, ²Department of Public Policy, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, Dartmouth, MA

This study investigates how the removal of small dams, and subsequent river restoration investments, affects residential housing prices in Plymouth, Massachusetts, selected for its unusually high density of dam removals. Following the dam removals, riverine restoration was completed, leading to improved public safety for downstream infrastructure, fish passage, and better water quality. Yet, contention exists in local government decision-making from fear of loss of property values of homes that are no longer classified as “waterfront.” To examine that charge, we evaluate sale prices of 9,961 single-family homes from 1997 to 2020, in a comparative estimation of a hedonic regression and a difference in differences model. The results indicate that dam removal does not negatively impact property values at waterfront locations, but increases the property value of homes within 7-miles by an average of $30,000.