Columbia Basin Joint Investigations
Columbia Basin Joint Investigations

Author:

Publisher:

Published: 1942

Total Pages: 70

ISBN-13:

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A series of reports on problems being studied by participants in the Joint Investigations to plan for the successful development and settlement of the Columbia Basin irrigation project.

Markets for Water
Markets for Water

Author: K. William Easter

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 1998-09-30

Total Pages: 306

ISBN-13: 0792382560

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Markets for Water: Potential and Performance dispels many of the myths surrounding water markets and gives readers a comprehensive picture of the way that markets have developed in different parts of the world. It is possible, for example, for a water market to fail, and for the transaction costs in water markets to be excessive. Too often water trading is banned because the water resources have been developed with public funds and the water agencies do not want to lose control over water. There is also a concern that poor farmers or households will be disadvantaged by water trading. These concerns about public resources and the poor are not very different from those that have been voiced in the past about land sales. The problem is that in many cases the poor already have limited access to resources, but this limit is not due to water trading. In fact, water trading is likely to expand the access to water for many small-scale farmers. Markets for Water: Potential and Performance provides an analytical framework for water market establishment. It develops the necessary conditions for water markets and illustrates how they can improve both water management and economic efficiency. Finally, the book gives readers an up-to-date picture of what we have learned about water markets in a wide range of countries, from the US to Chile and India.

Water Resources
Water Resources

Author: U S Government Accountability Office (G

Publisher: BiblioGov

Published: 2013-07

Total Pages: 38

ISBN-13: 9781289152987

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In response to congressional requests, GAO reviewed the economic and environmental impacts of expanding the irrigated acreage in the Columbia Basin Project from 556,000 acres to nearly 1.1 million acres. GAO found that the Bureau of Reclamation's 1984 cost/benefit analysis did not conform to the Water Resources Council's principles and guidelines for preparing such analyses. As a result, the costs were understated and the benefits overstated. The Bureau recognized the limitations of its analysis and has contracted with a consulting firm to perform a major study of the economic and environmental feasibility of expanding the project which will follow the council's principles and guidelines. However, in its economic analysis of the project, the Bureau's consultant will be evaluating the project's impacts on income and employment only within Washington, even though electricity users throughout the four-state Bonneville Power Administration marketing area will be paying for the project. The Bureau's 1984 analysis showed that 46 percent of the construction costs would be paid by irrigators, 34 percent by power users, and 20 percent by Washington State. The Bureau's estimates were in contrast with two other studies which concluded that U.S. taxpayers would pay about 80 percent of the project costs. The other two studies included interest costs in their analyses indicating that these costs, although not repaid, are a project expense. The Fish and Wildlife Service and the state consultant studies indicated that the proposed expansion would not adversely affect fish, wildlife, or water quality.