Underground water management in arid and semiarid regions: alternative strategies and measurement issues

Date

1994-12

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Publisher

Texas Tech University

Abstract

The objective of this study is to develop three essays related to underground water management in the arid and semiarid region of the United States (southwestem states). One essay discusses the socially optimal management policies of underground water resources as suggested by the economics theory. The second essay examines actual policies and management regimes in the southwestern states. DiflFerent management regimes are evaluated and their pros and cons are examined to arrive to the second-best solution. The second-best solution for the managerial problem is the one that comes very close to that suggested by the theory, and is the most successfiil in maximizing social welfare. A key variable for underground water policy-makers is the value of the resource in its natural place. Sufificient knowledge of underground water values is essential for underground water authorities, who direct their eflForts to manage the use of the resource and ensure that underground water is being used efficiently. A scarce resource, such as underground water, should be used efficiently, and the provision of the resource should be based on the values that it generates when utilized. A scarce resource should be used at its highest valued uses. Underground water is used in its highest valued uses when water users are confronted with its tme value. The last essay introduces techniques to estimate the value of underground water, and it estimates values for underground water in the High Plains Underground Water Conservation District No. I, which is located in the State of Texas.

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