Economic Value of a Weather Decision Support System for Oklahoma Public Safety Officials

Abstract

The Oklahoma Mesonet’s Public Safety outreach program, OK-First, has provided weather education and data delivery to the public safety community for the past twenty-five years. By delivering high-quality weather data tools, regular classes, and continued follow-up support to its trained members, the OK-First program has empowered more than 1,800 public safety officials. Testimonials from OK-First users indicate that there is an immense value in providing nonscientific audiences with meteorological information and training. OK-First users have saved lives and property using the the program. There has been no quantitative analysis, however, that evaluates the value of the OK-First program. This study fills a gap in providing quantitative analysis for the economic value of the OK-First program. This research used a modified travel cost method to measure the value of information provided by the OK-First program to the users of the program. Results suggest that the average willingness to pay for OK-First is $1,122 per training. The OK-First program in Oklahoma is valued at an estimated $254,000, with a collective surplus of $80,000 per training for OK-First users. This conservative estimate suggests the importance of programs such as the OK-First training, especially for public safety officials in Oklahoma.

Graphical Abstract

过去25年里, 美国俄克拉荷马州气象网（Mesonet）的公共安全推广项目OK-First, 为公共安全提供了天气教育和数据。通过向成员提供高质量的天气数据工具、定期的课程和持续的后续支持, OK-First已经辅助了1,800多名公共安全官员。OK-First用户表示, 为公众提供气象信息和培训, 具有巨大的价值。用户通过OK-First挽救了生命和财产。然而, 缺乏对OK-First项目价值的定量评估。本研究填补了定量分析OK-First经济价值的空白。利用改进的旅行成本方法, 评估了OK-First提供给用户的信息的价值。结果表明, OK-First培训的平均支付意愿为每次1,122美元。俄克拉荷马州OK-First估值为254,000美元, 每次OK-First用户培训的总盈余为80,000美元。这一保守估计表明了OK-First培训等项目的重要性, 对俄克拉荷马州公共安全官员尤

El programa de extensión sobre Seguridad Pública del Mesonet de Oklahoma, OK-First, ha provisto educación meteorológica y suministro de datos a la comunidad de seguridad pública, durante los pasados veinticinco años. Con la provisión de herramientas de datos meteorológicos, clases regulares y un apoyo de seguimiento continuado a sus miembros entrenados, el programa OK-First ha empoderado a más de 1.800 funcionarios de seguridad pública. Los testimonios de los usuarios de OK-First indican el reconocimiento de un inmenso valor por dar a las audiencias no científicas información y entrenamiento meteorológicos. Los usuarios de OK-First han salvado vidas y propiedades gracias a ese programa. Sin embargo, no se ha aplicado ningún análisis cuantitativo que examine el valor del programa OK-First. El presente estudio llena ese vacío al entregar los resultados de un análisis cuantitativo sobre el significado económico de ese programa. En la investigación se usó un método de coste de viaje modificado para medir el valor de la información provista por el programa OK-First a sus usuarios. Los resultados sugieren que la disposición media a pagar por el OK-First es de 1.122 dólares por entrenamiento. En Oklahoma el programa OK-First se estima en 254.000 dólares, con un excedente colectivo de 80.000 dólares por el entrenamiento de sus usuarios. Este estimativo conservador rubrica la importancia de programas de entrenamiento como el OK-First, en particular para los funcionarios de seguridad pública de Oklahoma.

Key Words:

• nonmarket valuation
• Oklahoma Mesonet
• public safety officials
• travel cost method
• weather decision support

其重要。关键词：:

• 非市场估价
• 俄克拉荷马州气象网
• 公共安全官员
• 旅行成本方法
• 天气决策支持。

Palabras clave:

• apoyo a las decisiones meteorológicas
• funcionarios de seguridad pública
• método del coste de viaje
• Oklahoma Mesonet
• valoración no comercial

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Dr. Jadwiga Ziolkowska for her assistance during the project’s initial stages and Dr. Mark Shafer, Dr. Christopher Fiebrich, Mr. James Hocker, Dr. Aimee Franklin, Dr. Michael Wimberly, and Dr. Scott Greene for their guidance and support. The authors also thank the managers of the various statewide automated networks, the OK-First community, Dr. Claire Curry, Dr. Jonathan McFadden, Dr. Saleh Sahabehtabrizy, and two anonymous reviewers.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported in part in the form of a Research Assistantship by the Regents Match on Adapting Socio-ecological Systems to Increased Climate Variability-Regional Ecologist and Environmental Economist-Faculty Startup [EPSCoR-2013-21], USDA-NIFA Multi-state hatch project W4190.

Notes on contributors

Dolly Y. Na-Yemeh

DOLLY Y. NA-YEMEH is a Climate Adaptation Specialist in the South Central Climate Adaptation Science Center (CASC), University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73071. E-mail: [email protected]. Her research interests include the impacts of extreme weather events, environmental weather monitoring, the value of weather information, emergency management, and climate adaptation.

Tiffany A. Legg

TIFFANY A. LEGG is currently a Water Conservation Coordinator in the City of Oklahoma City and was a research assistant at the Oklahoma Water Survey, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73071. E-mail: [email protected]. Her research interests include water resources and conservation, economic valuation of ecosystem services, science communication, and critical zone geosciences.

Lixia H. Lambert

LIXIA H. LAMBERT is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078. E-mail: [email protected]. Her research interests include resource allocation, biofuel supply chain development, nonmarket valuation, and water quality and quantity issues in rural areas.