Wastewater and Solid Waste Environmental Degradation Cost in Mohammedia City

The world’s population growth has resulted in an increase in wastewater, waste, and leachate production, which can harm the environment and incur significant costs for society. Therefore, this study aims to estimate the cost of environmental degradation related to wastewater discharges, household waste, and leachate using the methods proposed by the World Bank for the city of Mohammedia in Morocco. Unlike previous studies that were conducted on a large scale, our study was able to provide a more in-depth and accurate analysis of the environmental costs specific to this city. The results obtained showed that the total estimated cost varies around 11.04 million euros, with 3.9 million euros generated by the degradation of the quality of water resources due to the discharge of urban wastewater and 7.1 million euros generated by the degradation due to household and similar waste and leachate. The sum of 7.1 million euros includes the cost of not covering the population by waste collection, the cost of degradation of groundwater by leachate infiltration, the loss of value of the land, the lost electricity potential, the economic gains due to recycling, and the land savings which were estimated at 0.01 million euros. In conclusion, the cost of environmental degradation is an important indicator that must be followed throughout the years to measure sustainable development planning and evaluate environmental policies. Graphical Abstract