Economic Concepts And Techniques Pertaining To Water Supply Water Allocation And Water Quality

Because water in the United State has not been traded in markets, there is no meaningful estimate of what it would cost if it were traded. But failing to establish ground water's value--for in situ uses such as sustaining wetlands as well as for extractive uses such as agriculture--will lead to continued overuse and degradation of the nation's aquifers. In Valuing Ground Water an interdisciplinary committee integrates the latest economic, legal, and physical knowledge about ground water and methods for valuing this resource, making it comprehensible to decisionmakers involved in Superfund cleanup efforts, local wellhead protection programs, water allocation, and other water-related management issues. Using the concept of total economic value, this volume provides a framework for calculating the economic value of ground water and evaluating tradeoffs between competing uses of it. Included are seven case studies where ground-water valuation has been or could be used in decisionmaking. The committee examines trends in ground-water management, factors that contribute to its value, and issues surrounding ground-water allocation and legal rights to its use. The book discusses economic valuation of natural resources and reviews several valuation methods. Presenting conclusions, recommendations, and research priorities, Valuing Ground Water will be of interest to those concerned about ground-water issues: policymakers, regulators, economists, attorneys, researchers, resource managers, and environmental advocates.

Water provides benefits as a commodity for agriculture, industry, and households, and as a public good such as fisheries habitat, water quality and recreational use. To aid in cost-benefit analysis under conditions where market determined price signals are usually unavailable, economists have developed a range of alternative valuation methods for measuring economic benefits. This volume provides the most comprehensive exposition to-date of the application of economic valuation methods to proposed water resources investments and policies. It provides a conceptual framework for valuation of both commodity and public good uses of water, addressing non-market valuation techniques appropriate to measuring public benefits - including water quality improvement, recreation, and fish habitat enhancement. The book describes the various measurement methods, illustrates how they are applied in practice, and discusses their strengths, limitations, and appropriate roles. In this second edition, all chapters have been thoroughly updated, and in particular the coverage of water markets and valuation of ecosystem services from water has been expanded. Robert Young, author of the 2005 edition, has been joined for this new edition by John Loomis, who brings additional expertise on ecosystem services and the environmental economics of water for recreational and other public good uses of water.

Updated edition of a comprehensive introduction to the economics of water management, with self-contained treatment of all necessary economic concepts. Economics brings powerful insights to water management, but most water professionals receive limited training in it. The second edition of this text offers a comprehensive development of water resource economics that is accessible to engineers and natural scientists as well as to economists. The goal is to build a practical platform for understanding and performing economic analysis using both theoretical and empirical tools. Familiarity with microeconomics or natural resource economics is helpful, but all the economics needed is presented and developed progressively in the text. The book focuses on the scarcity of water quantity (rather than on water quality). The author presents the economic theory of resource allocation, recognizing the peculiarities imposed by water, and then goes on to treat a range of subjects including conservation, groundwater depletion, water law, policy analysis, cost–benefit analysis, water marketing, privatization, and demand and supply estimation. Added features of this updated edition include a new chapter on water scarcity risk (with climate change and necessary risk tools introduced progressively) and new risk-attentive material elsewhere in the text; sharper treatment of block rates and pricing doctrine; expanded attention to contemporary literature and issues; and new appendixes on input–output analysis, water footprinting and virtual water, and cost allocation. Each chapter ends with a summary and exercises.

This textbook is written for first-year graduate students and senior level undergraduates in economics. . . Graduate students in geography, water resources, and environmental management should also be interested. The well done helpful diagrams and charts are those expected for a textbook in economics at this level. In every chapter many interesting real world examples illustrate the concept being discussed. Some chapters have easy to read case studies set off from the text. Every chapter has an excellent bibliography. I plan on keeping this excellent book as a shelf reference and would willingly adopt it for a class in Water Resource Economics. Donald E. Agthe, Journal of the American Water Resources Association This is a much-needed book, which introduces the interested reader to the economics of water resource allocation, and analyzes relevant policy issues derived from all over the world. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first book which is focused on communicating the basic economic concepts that govern water resources allocation. . . The lively writing style of W. Douglass Shaw, which is enriched with excellent examples and case studies from various countries, makes this book an obvious choice for a textbook in relevant courses. . . this excellent book should be a compulsory reading for all of us who work in the field of water resources management. Phoebe Koundouri, Ecological Economics A state-of-the-art and comprehensive review of water resource economics policy issues and research methods needed to address those issues. It can double as a text for classes in water economics as well as a source for researchers who need a state-of-the-art review of the literature. Frank A. Ward, New Mexico State University, US For years, I ve taught water economics and policy by piecing together readings from dozens of texts and articles. Now, I finally have one text that provides comprehensive coverage of water economics at a level both accessible to senior undergraduates while still sufficiently rigorous for graduate students. I cannot wait to use this text in my classes! Eric Schuck, Colorado State University, US W. Douglass Shaw s Water Resource Economics and Policy is a valuable and timely contribution. Those new to the subject of water resource economics will find a treatment that is both comprehensive and readable, suitable for undergraduate and selected graduate level classes. The book amply demonstrates the application of basic microeconomic principles to water issues and provides valuable in-depth discussion of water quality, and of urban, agricultural, environmental and recreational water use. The economics of risk and uncertainty are clearly presented in the context of drought, flood control and water supply and demand. These are key themes in this field that can be difficult to communicate to undergraduates. This text will be invaluable in teaching water resource economics. Bonnie Colby, University of Arizona, US Douglass Shaw s Water Resource Economics and Policy is a timely and useful offering, filling an important void in MS and post bac texts. The beginning chapters provide background in legal and economic theory considerations. Each is followed up in the book with specific regulatory and institutional examples as well as citations and explanations of empirical work in water resources economics. Topics in agricultural and residential water use, as well as reservoir impoundments and trans-boundary water issues, yield useful concepts for a wide range of students. The text serves as a very essential framework with which supplementary readings can be added. The organization of the book is sensible; it provides a means by which a greater body of materials may be arranged. The course I currently teach contains students from a diverse set of academic fields. The text materials are eminently accessible for all of these students. I highly recommend this to be an indispensable source book for water resource e