Increasing population and urbanization necessitate very large investments in municipal water supply. These investments could be more efficiently deployed if the impact of policy variables such as marginal pricing, metering, by‐laws on lawn watering and plumbing fixtures, and higher summer charges were known. The paper in particular advocates the replacement of the present declining block rate by an increasing block rate. In order to know the impact of policy variables, a multiple regression model is built; the fitted model is tested against some data not included in calibrating the model. Next the impact of selected policy variables on the target variable (residential water demand during summer) is worked out for a new urban community of 200,000 people. The investment requirements may decrease appreciably as a result of a price increase when marginal (or commodity) charges are low but the impact of price changes when commodity charges are already high is less evident and non‐price policy variables may be more effective in maintaining high quality water and also satisfying the constraint of limited budgets for municipal services.

1987. Policy making within an adaptive management framework, with an application to lake trout (Salvelinus namaychssh) management. Can. 1. Fish. Aquat. Sci. M(Suppl. 2 ) : 425430. ffective fishery management requires soeimesnomic as well as biological information (Pitcher and Hart 1982; Clark 1985). Biological predictions are necessary but not sufficient to indicate the most appropriate management action. Rather, the most appropriate action is determined by the degree to which a policy, via its biotic impact, advances important socioeconon%jic objectives, such as enhanced eco-'Current address: Department of Economics, I m e s Madison University, Wmissnburg, VA 22807, USA.nomic welfare, greater cultural opportunities, m d species preservation. Unfortunately, effective policy choice is often hampered b y key biological unknowns which impede accurate biological predictions; hence, the associated socid and economic benefits are obscured as well. In this paper, we outline an appmach for making policy choice under these conditions o f uncertainty. The first part o f the paper describes how the adaptive management framework can be used to construct a set o f policy options available to managers; in the second part o f the paper we illustrate how to choose the most appropriate policy Can.

Water conservation may be defined as ademonstrably beneficial reduction in the amount of water of a certain quality for a specific use. Increasing costs as well as the risk of water shortages are likely to spur more efficient use of existing facilities. In many instances, conservation may be the most cost-effective way of increasing the supply of municipal water. Policymakers need to be familiar with the policy instruments, such as peak responsibility pricing, that could reduce the peak and average demands for municipal water and cost-effective technological options available to customers who wish to reduce water use. This paper is organized around these two themes and reviews the salient empirical findings in this field. Several municipalities have reduced peak demands, and the number of studies in demand management has increased substantially since the early 1960s. However, the interest in applying empirical findings has lagged behind research. Increasing costs are likely to stimulate innovative management and it is critical to explicate the problem and solutions so that policymakers would have the necessary understanding to make rational, cost-effective decisions. Time-and-location specific investigation is essential for enhancing such understand ing.

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