WATER SUPPLY AND URBAN GROWTH PLANNING: A PARTNERSHIP1

ABSTRACT As urban expansion outstrips water supplies, the usual solution is to build pipelines to bring in water from sources farther afield. Such water supplies may act as either a leader of urban development or as a follower. In either case, this engineering approach to the provision of water has fostered less than optimal utilization of regional water and land resources for urban growth. More efficient utilization of these resources is achieved when water supply development and urban growth planning are conjoint activities. Water supply planners and land use planners, working together, are able to generate and evaluate the full range of urban development options, including water demand management through conservation. Preferred regional growth plans are achieved using the best mix of water supply and urban growth. The result is a reduced rate of water supply development and a reduction of urban expansion on prime lands. This partnership approach is demonstrated for the Calgary Region under two levels of water conservation.     

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.     

MUNICIPAL WATER SUPPLY RESTRICTIONS AS URBAN GROWTH CONSTRAINTS1

ABSTRACT: Municipal water supply restrictions and/or conservation policies are widely believed to affect urban growth, at least in Western states. An analysis of this issue, drawing upon a wide array of empirical water use research, casts doubt upon the presumed connection. Water availability seems likely to have little effect upon the amenities which draw newcomers to Western cities. It also seems to have little effect upon the locational decisions of industries which affect growth by creating new jobs. Consequently, there is little reason to oppose municipal water restrictions as prejudicial to urban growth or to favor such restrictions in the hope of constraining growth.     

ACHIEVING URBAN WATER CONSERVATION1

ABSTRACT: Increasing costs and competition for water have resulted in pressure to manage urban water demand through conservation programs. Metering, pricing, devices, restrictions, building code changes, and horticultural practices have all been effective in reducing average residential water use. Some conservation means are specifically aimed at reducing peak demands but these usually reduce average usage as well. Combined programs of conservation can be expected to reduce urban demand by as much as 25–30 percent over the long term. Restrictions can reduce water usage on the short term even further. The success of conservation programs is as dependent on the effectiveness of public education and information dissemination as on the conservation practices themselves.     

THE IMPACT OF POLICY VARIABLES ON RESIDENTIAL WATER DEMAND AND RELATED INVESTMENT REQUIREMENTS1

Increasing population and urbanization necessitate very large investments in municipal water supply. These investments could be more efficiently deployed if the impact of policy variables such as marginal pricing, metering, by-laws on lawn watering and plumbing fixtures, and higher summer charges were known. The paper in particular advocates the replacement of the present declining block rate by an increasing block rate. In order to know the impact of policy variables, a multiple regression model is built; the fitted model is tested against some data not included in calibrating the model. Next the impact of selected policy variables on the target variable (residential water demand during summer) is worked out for a new urban community of 200,000 people. The investment requirements may decrease appreciably as a result of a price increase when marginal (or commodity) charges are low but the impact of price changes when commodity charges are already high is less evident and non-price policy variables may be more effective in maintaining high quality water and also satisfying the constraint of limited budgets for municipal services.     

BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES FOR STORM WATER AND INFILTRATION CONTROL1

ABSTRACT: Water quality controls of storm water runoff and infiltration should be a major part of a nonpoint source control program. Although surface runoff and ground water controls are often approached separately, coordination between the two is essential. For practical reasons, a rather simplified technology-based approach appears to be desirable. Areas affected vary greatly as to their sensitivity to pollution; and the various classes of pollutant source vary greatly as to their potential harmfulness. In effect, a matrix approach appears best, in which both vulnerability of the area and harmfulness of the pollutant source would have weight in determining which level of best management practices (BMP) would be appropriate, whether standard, special, or complete prohibition of the type facility under given circumstances.