ADMINISTRATIVE,INSTITUTIONAL, AND STRUCTURAL CHARACTERISTICS OF AN ACTIVE WATER MARKET1

ABSTRACT: Voluntary water transfers through markets have been advocated by many diverse groups as a means to reallocate scarce water supplies in the semi-arid western U.S. Although transfers of water rights have occurred almost since the creation of prior appropriation laws over a century ago, functioning water markets have been very slow to develop and are few in number. The structure, composition, administration and transactions of one of the most well established water markets, shares in the Bureau of Reclamation, Colorado-Big Thompson project, are examined to better understand the institutional and transfer conditions that sustain an active water market. Results from a detailed study of C-BT project records reveal that between 1970 and 1993 there were 2,698 transactions through which over one-third of the project water changed ownership or type of use. Further analysis shows that the transactions involved many individual sellers and categories of buyers with different uses, including agricultural buyers. The transfer activity and efficiency of the C-BT market has lead some to suggest that it be used as a model for other markets. However, because this market has fewer institutional restrictions, a well developed infrastructure and unique market conditions, it will be difficult to transfer this model to other areas without accompanying modifications in water right administration and institutions.     

INSTITUTIONAL BARRIERS TO WATER MARKETING IN THE WEST1

ABSTRACT: Water marketing has been proposed as one means of reallocating water supplies in the western United States. While markets for western water currently exist and may be expected to expand, the institutional constraints within which the markets must operate will limit the ultimate size and efficiency of those markets. Lack of articulation of public interests in the water resource itself leads to incomplete definition of the private rights to use the water, and it is those private rights which are sold or leased in the market. The increase in size and efficiency of any market in water rights will be dependent on the willingness of legislatures to specifically define the nature and extent of public interests in water supplies, and detailed definition is unlikely.     

PRIVATIZING THE GROUND WATER RESOURCE: INDIVIDUAL USE AND ALTERNATIVE SPECIFICATIONS1

ABSTRACT: While most inquiries into improving the efficiency of ground water allocation have focused upon various schemes involving centralized management, recently the focus has shifted towards exploring private property solutions to these problems. However, most of these studies, when modeling ground water use, have equated behavior under private property to that under common property conditions. This leads to the possibly mistaken conclusion that private property rights do not promote more efficient ground water use, because these models assume that producers ignore the future effects of current pumping. This paper attempts to correct this deficiency by formally modeling ground water use under common property, central management, and private property scenarios. Moreover, there are many ways that property rights can be defined over ground water, some establishing more exclusivity over the resource than others. Four specifications of property rights are analyzed for their likely effects on allocative efficiency: full stock-flow, partial stock-flow, limited stock-flow, and pure flow rights.     

WATER AND WATER RIGHTS TRANSFERS: A NEW POLICY FOR NEBRASKA1

ABSTRACT: Nebraska has abundant supplies of high quality surface and ground water. The U.S. Supreme Court decision in 1982, declaring ground water to be an article of commerce, is widely perceived as giving neighboring states easier access to Nebraska water. Some neighboring states, particularly Colorado and Wyoming, are in water short situations. Additionally, current legal restrictions on certain types of transfers within the State could be inhibiting the “highest and best use” of Nebraska's water. Thus, in 1987 the Nebraska Legislature called for the development of a new water policy for Nebraska that would promote the economically efficient use of water, yet protect the environment as well as the rights of individuals (for example, third parties) and the public. Through an interagency study employing an extensive public involvement process, a policy to be recommended to the Legislature in 1989 emerged. The policy revises the basic definition of water rights and transfers and eliminates most of the inconsistencies in the water allocation system by treating most types of water resources, most types of water users, and most locations of use similarly in the permitting process. (The principal exception is the individual irrigator using ground water on the overlying land where overlying land is one government surveyed section; such use is not defined to be a transfer nor is a permit required.) An impact assessment would be required of most new water uses except on site uses of ground water. Compensation measures could be specified as a condition of the permit where appropriate. The permit would be issued only if the benefits of the proposed transfer clearly outweigh adverse effects that could not be avoided or effectively compensated. The policy allows for the sale or lease of “salvaged” water. It calls for the State to facilitate transfers by acting as a clearinghouse for potential buyers and sellers, and it allows the State to sponsor water projects. An annual fee to be paid by many water users, in order to provide a fund for compensation and for state sponsored water projects, was proposed. However, it met with extensive opposition. Thus, the policy recommends only that the Legislature examine potential funding programs and equitable user fees.     

STATE WATER LAW REFORM: IDENTIFYING LEGAL AND MANAGERIAL ISSUES AND OPTIONS1

ABSTRACT: Statutory and case law at the state level provide critical legal frameworks for water management. As many state governments struggle to improve efficiency in water management and resolve conflicts over water usage, they must continually assess the efficacy of their state water law. Most states have water laws that are disconnected and overlapping. This article presents a methodology to assess state water law and take first steps toward a comprehensive state water resources act. The methodology is driven by issues and conflicts in water management. It synthesizes management and legal analyses into a process that incorporates the diverse perspectives of state water stakeholders. The results of the analysis are identification of management issues, profiles of state water law, and explorations of legal options that are available to the state government. Illinois is provided as a case study for this methodology.     

ADAPTING THE LAW OF WATER MANAGEMENT TO GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE AND OTHER HYDROPOLITICAL STRESSES1

ABSTRACT: Existing legal regimes for the management of water resources are already stressed by changing technologies and growing populations. There is little reason for doubt that today the planet is undergoing significant and even alarming climate change. In the past such global climatic changes had dramatic effects on water resource availability with disastrous consequences for many human communities. Today's climate changes can be managed without such disastrous consequences for present day communities only if there are major reforms to existing water law regimes at the local, national, and international levels. In particular, at the local and national levels, water resources must be treated as public property rather than as common or private property. At the international level, water must be managed at the drainage basin level rather than according to national boundaries that largely ignore rational water management criteria. At all levels, care must be given to decentralizing decision making and to use economic incentives insofar as possible, without, however, mistaking economic incentives for markets. The public nature of water resources precludes true markets as a significant management tool.     

WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT: THE CASE FOR RIVER BASIN AUTHORITIES1

ABSTRACT: There is a lamentable absence of comprehensive planning in the current cursade to improve water quality. A serious shortcoming is the lack of evaluation of the effects of waste water treatment upon environmental quality. At some point in time the public may ask what they have obtained for their money. The nature of pollution in a river basin demands a coordinated attack against it. Engineering and economic criteria suggest that a properly empowered river basin authority would be the logical organization to plan and operate a water quality management system. Several forms of such authorities have operated effectively and efficiently for many years in the United States and other industrialized countries. Examples of successful river basin authorities and their advantages and methods of operation are discussed.     

WATER POLICIES FOR ENERGY DEVELOPMENT1

ABSTRACF: Examination of a series of studies of the economically efficient water allocations in the Upper Colorado River, Yellowstone River, and Great Basins indicate that water is not a serious general physical constraint on the development of energy resources, so long as public institutions do not hinder the exchange of water rights in markets. Energy development will cause limited impacts on other water-using sectors, principally agriculture. There appears to be little reason to develop large-scale water storage facilities, even during periods of reduced water production. Water storage developments appear to be necessary only when institutional constraints severely restrict water rights markets and transfers.     

WATER QUALITY MONITORING: WHERE'S THE BEEF?1

ABSTRACT: Water quality monitoring, as a function of society's efforts to manage the environment, is the contact mechanism that management and the public has with the actual water quality in the environment. Water quality monitoring has been studied extensively for many years to ensure that it produces information about water quality conditions. Current efforts to reduce government spending will have negative impacts on those government functions deemed to be non-responsive to the needs of the public. How well does water quality monitoring inform taxpayers about the status and trends in water quality conditions in the United States? This paper reviews a number of past efforts to “improve” water quality monitoring, discusses barriers to such improvement, and suggests ways that monitoring can be made more accountable for the information it should be producing for public understanding of water quality conditions. In particular, the need for standardization in data analysis and reporting of information to the public, is highlighted.     

AN IMPLICIT APPROACH TO PRICING AGRICULTURAL WATER TRANSFERS TO URBAN USES1

ABSTRACT: The increased agricultural efficiency of the American farmer has been a substantial impetus to this nation's rapid urbanization. In many western regions where total water supplies are limited, urbanization has required the transfer of heretofore agricultural water rights to the urban use. A major problem in such transfers has been the value or price of the water. A management level model of a typical urban water system was developed to optimize water supply, distribution, and wastewater treatment alternatives. The values of agricultural transfers were determined as the cost advantages of increasing allowable reuse levels of urban effluents which imply the use of a downstream right. This procedure is justified by the economic theory of alternative cost. Results for a test application to the Denver, Colorado area indicate values on the order of $1,000 per acre-foot of transferable water depending on effluent water quality restrictions and operational policies.     

WATER TRANSFERS AND THEIR IMPACTS: LESSONS FROM THREE COLORADO WATER MARKETS1

ABSTRACT: This paper presents an analysis of the effects of different institutional arrangements and economic environments on water markets. Characteristics of water rights transfers in the South Platte Basin of Colorado and transfers of shares of the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District (NCWCD) are compared to show how different institutional arrangements can affect the types and size distributions of transfers. The characteristics of water rights transfers in the prosperous South Platte are then compared with water rights transfer characteristics in the economically marginal Arkansas River basin of Colorado to identify the effects of different economic environments. Finally, the economic losses from reductions in irrigated acreage resulting from water transfers are estimated for the South Platte and Arkansas and compared with purchase prices by municipalities. Transfers in the South Platte were to new uses in the same basin, while more recent transfers in the Arkansas were to out of basin users. Transfers of South Platte rights and especially NCWCD shares were small and continuous over time, while transfers in the Arkansas were dominated by a few very large transfers. The negative impacts are judged to be more severe in the Arkansas basin than in the South Platte. Purchase prices paid by municipalities substantially exceeded capitalized transitional losses in the selling areas. In the South Platte, gains and losses were in the same basin, while the Arkansas absorbed the losses, with the benefits going to the purchasing basin.     

INSTITUTIONALIZED INEFFICIENCY: THE UNFORTUNATE STRUCTURE OF COLORADO'S WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM1

ABSTRACT: This analysis identifies two basic structural features of Colorado's water management system which inhibit constructive reform and perpetuate inefficiencies in water use and distribution patterns. These features are: (1) the fragmentation of authority and influence over water, and (2) the estrangement of interest in reform from formal control over water policy. These interrelated features have continued to produce: sporadic, high conflict battles over proposed changes in the status quo; decision making which tends to exaggerate the importance of narrow, special interests while virtually ignoring legitimate interests of major sectors of the public; an inertia which discourages innovation; and an agglomeration of rules and water rights that are predicated on obsolete social and economic needs. Two radical proposals for reforming the state's water resource management system in order to overcome these problems and to enhance the probability that wise water policy will result are offered. These proposals are: (1) the abolition of the present system of water rights founded on the doctrine of prior appropriation, and (2) the consolidation of authority over water allocation in a single board of governors.     

PROBLEMS OF PUBLIC ACCESS TO WATER IN TEXAS LAKES AND STREAMS1

ABSTRACT: Rapidly increasing demand for recreational use of Texas' public waters is resulting in growing conflict between riparian landowners and the public. This paper examines the public access question, certainly one of the most poorly defined and understood areas of Texas water and property law. Since the appropriation acts of the late 1800's, most surface waters are owned by the state, and are held in trust for the benefit of the people. While there is no express statutory authority giving the general public the right to use these waters, there is extensive, if often conflicting, case law recognizing such rights on navigable streams. It is equally well established that the public may not gain access by crossing private property. Definition of public and private rights is complicated by the fact that Texas land grants (with their attendant property rights) have emanated from Spain, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, and the state. Obstacles imposed by riparian landowners to public entry, use and passage, as well as spatial aspects of access, are also considered. Because public access rights are based on the peculiar circumstances of each case, it is difficult to establish general legal principles, and there is almost no reliable information to aid the recreation-seeking public. A clear legislative enunciation of public rights appears politically infeasible at present, the most immediately attainable goal lying in the area of better public education.     

WATER AND THE ENERGY CRISIS1

ABSTRACT: Water and energy are inextricably bound. Energy is consumed and sometimes produced by every form of water resources system. Opportunities for future development and production of energy resources abound as well as those for significant reductions in energy consumption through wise water development and management. Technological, political, social, economic and environmental factors interrelate in the energy-water mix. The role of the water resources planner will have to be expanded to include assessment of water-energy impacts in addition to traditional planning considerations. An energy conservation account may well have to be added to the dimensions of national economic development and environmental quality in water resources planning. Ways must be found to reduce amounts and rates of water used and energy consumed through new manufacturing processes, improved irrigation practices, better management, new or altered social-political-economic arrangements and other procedures. To do this will require setting priorities and making difficult management decisions. The water fraternity can play a major role in alleviating the energy crisis we now face.     

INTEGRATING DIFFUSEINONPOINT POLLUTION CONTROL AND WATER BODY RESTORATION INTO WATERSHED MANAGEMENT1

ABSTRACT: The objective of water quality/watershed management is attainment of water quality goals specified by the Clean Water Act. The Total Maximal Daily Load (TMDL) planning process is a tool to set up watershed management. However, TMDL methodologies and concepts have several problems, including determination of Loading Capacity for only low flow critical periods that preclude consideration of wet weather sources in water quality management. Research is needed to develop watershed pollutant loading and receiving waters Loading Capacity models that will link wet and dry weather pollution loads to the probability of the exceedence of water quality standards. The long term impact of traditional Best Management Practices as well as ponds and wetlands, must be reassessed to consider long term accumulation of conservative toxic compounds. Socioeconomic research should focus on providing information on economic and social feasibility of implementation of additional controls in water quality limited watersheds.     

CONJUNCTIVE MANAGEMENT OF WATER RESOURCES IN THE CONTEXT OF TEXAS WATER LAW1

ABSTRACT: This paper examines the critical interaction between existing Texas water law and the state's water resources. Conjunctive use and management of interrelated water resources, though seldom practiced, is generally considered desirable. However, a significant barrier to the coordinated, efficient use and management of water resources is the legal division of water in the various phases of the hydrologic cycle into different classes and recognition of well-defined water rights in the separate phases. Several examples of the problems which relate to, or result from, present Texas water law and which prevent correlated water resource management are discussed. Any substantive revision of Texas law, particularly ground water law, will apparently be difficult to achieve in the immediate future, primarily because of the large number of recognized private water rights and the political power inherent in them. Data necessary for operation of conjunctive management systems are gradually being acquired, and perhaps someday other hydrologic phases can be integrated with surface and ground water. Nevertheless, Texas courts and the legislature have sufficient information on the interrelated hydrologic cycle so that prospective water conflicts should be anticipated and avoided. Great care must be exercised in the recognition of new types of private water rights or extension of existing rights, because this institutional structure, once established, presents a formidable obstacle to desirable revisions of the law.     

ADMINISTRATION OF GROUND WATER AS BOTH A RENEWABLE AND NONRENEWABLE RESOURCE1

ABSTRACT: Ground water is intended to be administered in many western states as a flow or renewable resource. In Idaho, this administration is based on the appropriation doctrine of water rights. Two generalizations may be made concerning ground water. First, water artificially discharged from an aquifer system must deplete the total resource by that amount; water consumptively pumped from a well must be derived from either increased recharge, decreased discharge or a decrease of water in storage. Second, the annual rate of recharge to a ground-water system is often only a small percentage of the total resource in storage. Ground water may be divided into flow and stock portions. In those basins where the second generalization is true, most ground water may be classified as stock. However, only the flow portion of ground water may be developed if utilization of the resource is to be enjoyed over an infinite period. Data from the Raft River Basin in Idaho indicate that the flow and stock characteristics of ground water are time dependent. The resource exhibits the characteristics of both a renewable and nonrenewable resource. As a result, present administrative techniques do not provide for effective management of the resource.     

WATER MANAGEMENT IN ONTARIO1

ABSTRACT: The Ontario Ministry of the Environment has based its water quality management approach on a set of guidelines published in 1970. In light of the changing societal and economic background, advancement in technology and scientific knowledge, and philosophical attitudes towards water management, the water management program was recently revised. Factors influencing the revised approach, including federal-provincial interrelationships and international commitments under the Canada-U.S. Agreement, are summarized. The revised program consists of a goal statement, policies to implement this goal, revised water quality objectives, and detailed implementation procedures for field staff use. Rather than promulgating regulations to impose arbitrary effluent or receiving water standards on a province-wide basis, the revised approach involves the imposition of legally enforceable effluent requirements on a case-by-case basis. Although the paper emphasizes the surface water quality program, it also outlines the Ministry's goals, policies, and procedures for the management of surface-water quantity, as well as ground water quality and quantity.     

AGRICULTURAL WATER MODELING AND ECONOMIC INFORMATION NEEDS UNDER THE MODEL WATER CODE1

ABSTRACT: Economic information for efficient water allocation is difficult and costly to acquire under administrative water systems evolving under the Model Water Code. One approach to obtaining more information is to use a simulator like the Florida AGWATER model. The advantage of AGWATER is the potential for realistic prediction, because it operates at the field and day levels, using detailed information for each crop and tract. Unfortunately, such simulators are complex and require large amounts of costly input data. A better solution to the information problem may be to use markets for the marketable goods associated with water, because information is inherent in such a process. This approach will allow limited modeling and management resources to be put into using water models to generate information for the goods dependent on water that are difficult to market, like wildlife services.     

SIZING OF SURFACE WATER RUNOFF DETENTION PONDS FOR WATER QUALITY IMPROVEMENT1

ABSTRACT: Historically, storm water management programs and criteria have focused on quantity issues related to flooding and drainage system design. Traditional designs were based on large rainfall‐runoff events such as those having two‐year to 100‐year return periods. While these are key criteria for management and control of peak flows, detention basin designs based on these criteria may not provide optimal quality treatment of storm runoff. As evidenced by studies performed by numerous public and private organizations, the water quality impacts of storm water runoff are primarily a function of more frequent rainfall‐runoff events rather than the less frequent events that cause peak flooding. Prior to this study there had been no detailed investigations to characterize the variability of the more frequent rainfall events on Guam. Also, there was a need to develop some criteria that could be applied by designers, developers, and agency officials in order to reduce the impact of storm water runoff on the receiving bodies. The objectives of this paper were three‐fold: (1) characterize the hourly rainfall events with respect to volume, frequency, duration, and the time between storm events; (2) evaluate the rainfall‐runoff characteristics with respect to capture volume for water quality treatment; and (3) prepare criteria for sizing and designing of storm water quality management facilities. The rainfall characterization studies have provided insight into the characteristics of rainstorms that are likely to produce non‐point source pollution in storm water runoff. By far the most significant fmdings are the development of a series of design curves that can be used in the actual sizing of storm water detention and treatment facilities. If applied correctly, these design curves could lead to a reduction of non‐point source pollution to Guam's streams, estuaries, and coastal environments.