Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Terms of use: Documents in

No abstract

Purpose To investigate the effects of use of water from irrigation canals to flood residential yards on the risk of West Nile disease in El Paso, Texas. Methods West Nile disease confirmed cases in 2009–2010 were compared with a random sample of 50 residents of the county according to access to and use of water from irrigation canals by subjects or their neighbors, as well as geo-referenced closest distance between their home address and the nearest irrigation canal. A windshield survey of 600 meters around the study subjects’ home address recorded the presence of irrigation canals. The distance from the residence of 182 confirmed cases of West Nile disease reported in 2003–2010 to canals was compared to that of the centroids of 182 blocks selected at random. Results Cases were more likely than controls to report their neighbors flooded their yards with water from canals. Irrigation canals were more often observed in neighborhoods of cases than of controls. Using the set of addresses of 182 confirmed cases and 182 hypothetic controls the authors found a statistically significant inverse relation with risk of West Nile disease. Conclusions Flooding of yards with water from canals increased the risk of West Nile disease.

No abstract

Widespread dissatisfaction with state management of canal irrigation systems has focused intense interest on potential private sector remedies for the problems afflicting the sector. Privatization promises a number of benefits-lower operating costs, increased productivity, innovation, mobilization of capital, higher service quality, and larger service areas.However, canal irrigation is a natural monopoly, where the large capital investments required preclude multiple private service providers in a given service area. Nevertheless, the paper argues that there are a number of ways to take advantage of positive features of the private sector, without wasteful duplication of infrastructure or leaving farmers at the mercy of greedy investors. Three primary options-renewable management contracts, franchises, and self-provision of services by clients-are described and illustrated.Another way to examine possibilities for privatization is to look at the types of organizations that provide irrigation services. The defining aspects of an organization are governance, source of funds, economic motive, and type of staff. The paper defines a set of five types of service providers based on these characteristics. These types are departments, authorities, districts, associations, and public utilities. The characteristics of each are discussed, with examples.To rise above the basic performance floor provided by a public bureaucracy, an institutional structure including private elements requires a supporting policy environment. Critical elements of a supportive environment include policy stability, legal respect for contracts and agreements, and reasonably impartial regulation, allocation, and adjudication. In the absence of a sufficiently supportive national governance environment, private elements in the irrigation management system are unlikely to flourish or, conversely, may have the ability to take advantage of weaker parties. Copyright  2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.KEY WORDS: privatization; canal irrigation; organizations; institutions; management RÉSUMÉ Les insuffisances avérées de la gestionétatique des périmètres irrigués par gravité ont suscité un intérêt croissant quant au potentiel du secteur privé pour résoudre certains des maux affectant le secteur. La privatisation peut permettre un certain nombre de bénéfices-coûts d'opération réduits, meilleure productivité, innovation, mobilisation de fonds, qualité de service accrue, et une expansion des surfaces desservies.L'irrigation publique est un monopole naturel, où la nécessité de gros investissements ne permet pas le développement de multiples sociétés de distribution dans un périmètre donné. Néanmoins, cet article entend montrer qu'il existe de nombreuses manières de tirer profit des caractéristiques positives du secteur privé, sans * Correspondence to: M. Svendsen, 24144 Price Creek Road, Philomath, OR 97370 USA.