Reducing institutional barriers to water conservation

Ward, Frank A.

doi:10.1016/s1366-7017(99)00002-1

Cited by 9 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 14 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This inter-dependency between cities and farms suggests considerable opportunity and rationale for cities to form water partnerships with farmers, to the benefit of both parties. If cities could help farmers consume less water, this could free up a new source of water supply for the city while potentially improving the price and reliability of agricultural products (Ward & King, 1998;Gober, 2010). In this light, collaborative stakeholder and governance processes that facilitate an informed, exploratory dialogue about the economic and cultural values attached to water, and opportunities to re-allocate water use in the basin, can improve understanding of the needs of various water users (both urban and rural), as well as opportunities to optimize the shared values of water.…”

Section: The Promise Of Urban-rural Partnershipsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tapped out: how can cities secure their water future?

et al. 2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Cities around the world are struggling to access additional water supplies to support their continued growth because their freshwater sources are becoming exhausted. Half of all cities with populations greater than 100,000 are located in water-scarce basins, and in these basins agricultural water consumption accounts for more than 90% of all freshwater depletions. In this paper we review the water development histories of four major cities: Adelaide, Phoenix, San Antonio and San Diego. We identify a similar pattern of water development in these cities, which begins with the exhaustion of local surface and groundwater supplies, continues with importation of water from other basins, and then turns to recycling of wastewater or stormwater, or desalination of either seawater or brackish groundwater. Demand management through water conservation has mitigated, to varying degrees, the timing of water-system expansions and the extent to which cities rely on new sources of supply. This typical water development pattern in cities is undesirable from a sustainability perspective, as it is usually associated with serious ecological and social impacts as well as sub-optimal cost effectiveness. We highlight case examples and opportunities to invest in water conservation measures, particularly through urban-rural partnerships under which cities work with farmers to implement irrigation conservation measures, thereby freeing up water for ecological restoration and use by cities.

show abstract

Section: The Promise Of Urban-rural Partnershipsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tapped out: how can cities secure their water future?

et al. 2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Mason Gaffney [13] was among the first to point out the many physical, economic, and legal impediments hindering the development of water markets in the American West. More recently, Brewer, Glennon, Ker, and Libecap [31], Ward and King [32], and Donohew [12], among others, recount most of the same issues. Further, Brewer, Glennon, Ker, and Libecap [31] report, based on an extensive data set of water marketing transactions throughout the western United States that, while there has been some noteworthy expansion of "agriculture to urban" and "agriculture to environment" sales and/or leasing of water, the one area where increased water marketing has not occurred is from "agriculture to agriculture."…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Water degradation implications when whole-farm irrigation water is binding

Watts

Atwood

Beattie

2015

Water Resources and Economics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…By examining the efficiency curves of more confined geographic regions, the impact of transportation costs will be reduced. Even when these costs are relatively low, rules against waste and third-party damages in most western states may limit the ability of right holders to transfer conserved water [50]. Farmers may fear partial forfeiture of their water right if conserved water cannot be put to immediate beneficial use on their farm [51].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Economic Insight from Utah’s Water Efficiency Supply Curve

Edwards

Bosworth

Adams

et al. 2017

Water

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Across the western US, growing populations and urbanization along with environmental demands and a changing climate have strained water allocation mechanisms originally designed to provide water to agriculture. This paper provides a methodology, using Utah as an example, for examining the options for new water supply via conservation, interpretable by policymakers, water agencies, and water users. Findings indicate that the largest potential water savings, at the lowest cost, are in agriculture and outdoor residential water use, where more efficient applications can maintain the acreage of crops and lawns at current levels while dramatically reducing use.

show abstract

Reducing institutional barriers to water conservation

Cited by 9 publications

References 14 publications

Tapped out: how can cities secure their water future?

Tapped out: how can cities secure their water future?

Water degradation implications when whole-farm irrigation water is binding

Economic Insight from Utah’s Water Efficiency Supply Curve

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About