Alternative Water Allocation Research Articles

Relationship between Visitors’ Sense of Place, Recreation Behavior, and Acceptability of Resource Allocation Strategies at a Reservoir Facing a Water Crisis

Municipal drawdowns at public reservoirs can negatively impact recreational uses on site. Therefore, sustaining recreation requires understanding how users relate themselves with the reservoir and the resource therein, and how they will respond to circumstances and policies impacting the resource. Researchers use placedbased theory, particularly sense of place (SOP), to assess the user community’s perspective on the natural resource or recreation site of interest. This study utilized visitor survey data (n=282) from Canton Reservoir in Oklahoma to assess visitors’ sense of place (SOP), and to evaluate the relationship of SOP with their acceptability of alternative water allocation strategies and future intention of visiting the reservoir under depleted water conditions. Visitors had a high level of SOP with the reservoir and supported protective water allocation strategies that either favor the retention of water on-site or ensure a fair distribution between recreation and municipal use. Results suggest a positive relationship between visitors' SOP and their intended trips to the reservoir even under depleted water conditions. The findings highlight the psychological, functional, and emotional benefits associated with the recreational use of the Canton Reservoir, which will in turn help managers make more informed and balanced decisions about water conservation and allocation. Insights from this study will also contribute in literature on the sense of place and protective norms and offers several implications for the management of public reservoirs.

Efficient and Economical Allocation of Irrigation Water under a Changing Environment: a Stochastic Multi‐Objective Nonlinear Programming Model*

AbstractWater scarcity causes conflicts between natural resources and socio‐economic development which reinforces the need for optimal allocation of irrigation water resources. Irrigation water resource allocation is a complex problem due to various uncertainties in natural conditions. In this study, a stochastic multi‐objective nonlinear programming model is developed for irrigation water allocation under uncertainty. The model is capable of balancing the conflicting objectives of maximizing both net economic benefit (NEB) and irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE). Moreover, it can reflect the random nature of water availability, and provide alternative water allocation schemes in response to climate change. The applicability of the developed model is demonstrated by a case study in north‐west China. Trade‐offs between NEB and IWUE are presented. Irrigation water allocation schemes to cope with changing environments, including climate change and varying water availability, are also proposed. The results demonstrate that the developed model can generate solutions that save irrigation water while ensuring NEB. This model is a useful tool to support the formulation of optimized water resources management policies in a changing environment.

The economic impacts of water supply restrictions due to climate and policy change: A transboundary river basin supply-side input-output analysis

Finding sustainable pathways to efficiently allocate limited available water resources among increasingly competing water uses has become crucial due to climate-change-induced water shortages and increasing water demand. This has led to an urgent need for the inclusion of economic principles, models, and methods in water resources management. Although several studies have developed macro-economic models to evaluate the economic impacts of alternative water allocation strategies, many if not most ignore the hydrological boundaries of transboundary river basins. Furthermore, of those using input-output (IO) models, only a handful have applied supply-side IO models. In this paper, we present one of the first attempts to develop an inter-regional, supply-side IO modelling framework for a multi-jurisdictional, transboundary river basin to assess the direct and indirect economic impacts of water supply restrictions due to climate and policy change. Applying this framework to the Saskatchewan River Basin in Canada encompassing three provinces, we investigate the economic impacts of two different water supply restriction scenarios on the entire river basin and its sub-basins individually. We find that in the face of climate-change-induced water shortage, economic losses can be reduced by almost 50% by adopting appropriate management practices, including prioritization of water allocation, using alternative water sources, and water re-use technologies.

Development and application of a priority rated optimization model (PROM) for multi-sector water resource management systems

We present a new Priority Rated Optimization Model (PROM) for multi-sector water resource assessment, allocation and management. PROM utilizes flow duration curves (FDC), demand-to-supply ratio (DSR) and utility indices (UI) to evaluate and optimize priority based multi-sector water allocation. DSR links demand volume and priority with corresponding supply volume and likelihood derived from segmentation of FDC. The UI function assigns weights to ranges of DSR to assess the existing and potential alternative management scenarios. Supply reliability and UI values are used in a combinatorial optimization scheme to estimate allocated volume, flow rate and percent exceedance. PROM is applied in the Mara River Basin of Kenya/Tanzania, and results showed potential improvement over the current management practice towards sustainability of the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem. PROM bridges the gap between environmental and economic models while providing a user-friendly platform for direct stakeholder involvement to explore alternative water allocation scenarios.

Evaluating and managing environmental water regimes in a water‐scarce and uncertain future

Abstract While the number of environmental flows and water science programmes continues to grow across the globe, there remains a critical need to better balance water availability in support of human and ecological needs and to recognise the environment as a legitimate user of water. In water‐stressed areas, this recognition has resulted in friction between water users in the public and private sectors. An opportunity exists for practitioners to be on the forefront of the science determining best practices for supporting environmental water regimes. This Special Issue brings together a collection of environmental flows science and water management papers organised around three major themes: (1) method development and testing; (2) application case studies; and (3) efficacy evaluation. Contents of this Special Issue are intended to foster collaboration and broaden transferability of the information, technical tools, models and methods needed to support environmental water management programmes. The technical sophistication of methods and modelling tools, while important to the advancement of environmental water science, may come at the expense of easily interpretable outcomes that positively influence management decisions. Researchers need to be more proactive in translating the results of advanced modelling methodologies into user‐friendly tools and methods. This will allow stakeholders and water managers to proactively test alternative water allocation scenarios to help address growing human water demands in the face of droughts and changes in climatic patterns. The application of environmental flows science and water management strategies cannot be done in isolation. Implementation involves a complex decision‐making process that integrates ecological, hydrologic and social science across diverse multifaceted governance systems and requires active stakeholder involvement. Scientists and managers must strengthen partnerships at multiple scales to develop sensible science investment strategies so that collective knowledge can be translated into wise environmental water management decisions.

Modeling the Agricultural Water–Energy–Food Nexus in the Indus River Basin, Pakistan

AbstractNexus thinking is critical to jointly address growing water, energy, and food security challenges. This paper evaluates the water, energy, and food nexus (WEFN) in the Indus River of Pakistan using the Indus Basin Model Revised—Multi Year, a hydro-agro-economic model extended with an agricultural energy use module. Impacts of a range of climate change scenarios on the WEFN in the Indus Basin were modeled and then the potential of different alternative water allocation mechanisms and water infrastructure developments to address growing water, energy and food security concerns in the country were assessed. Results show growing water and energy use under hotter and wetter climate conditions. While more flexible surface water allocation policies can mitigate negative climate change impacts on agricultural water and energy use allowing for larger crop and hydropower production, such policies might also increase the inter-annual variability of resource use. Moreover, a more flexible surface water alloca...

Comment on: “Economic and environmental tradeoffs from alternative water allocation policies in the South Saskatchewan River Basin” by Marian Weber and Marius Cutlac, CWRJ 39(4) 2014 Winter Issue

Comment on: “Economic and environmental tradeoffs from alternative water allocation policies in the South Saskatchewan River Basin” by Marian Weber and Marius Cutlac, CWRJ 39(4) 2014 Winter Issue

Response to “Comment on ‘Economic and environmental tradeoffs from alternative water allocation policies in the South Saskatchewan River Basin’” by Richard J. Phillips and D. Rodney Bennett

Response to “Comment on ‘Economic and environmental tradeoffs from alternative water allocation policies in the South Saskatchewan River Basin’” by Richard J. Phillips and D. Rodney Bennett

Economic and environmental tradeoffs from alternative water allocation policies in the South Saskatchewan River Basin

This paper compares the economic and environmental performance of a share versus a prior allocation system for managing water in Alberta’s South Saskatchewan River Basin. Currently, water is allocated on a priority basis, and moving to a share system would involve significant political and legal challenges. In the absence of water trading, both initial allocation systems result in poor economic outcomes, but the prior allocation performs particularly badly. Efficiency improves with water trading as licensees respond to opportunities to reallocate water to higher value uses. However, under prior allocation, water is more concentrated with senior licensees who capture more of the gains from trade. The share system does not result in improved environmental outcomes. Water trading results in improved instream flows as water is reallocated to upstream municipal uses, which have high return flows. The analysis suggests that improving institutions for trading water will provide better economic outcomes and environmental protection than reforming the initial allocation, and that government should focus its efforts on directly reserving water for the environment.

Implications of current and alternative water allocation policies in the Bow River Sub Basin of Southern Alberta

In this study, economic implications of allocating surface water with the existing policy (seniority rule) and three other alternative (People First, proportional reduction, and trading) policies are investigated to address potential water scarcities in the Bow River Sub Basin (BRSB) of Southern Alberta using a mathematical programming model. The model used an improved calibration technique and 2008 data for three irrigation and three non-irrigation sector users in the BRSB. Results indicate that while the seniority rule favors senior license holding irrigation users and the People First policy favors municipal sector users, irrigation users are better off with the proportional allocation policy even though it affects all users across-the-board. Moreover, if the users can participate in costless trades, then non-irrigation users tend to buy water as they place high value on water at the margin. Some irrigation users find selling water more profitable than utilizing their allocations for crop production.

Options for improving water use efficiency under worsening scarcity: Evidence from the Middle Olifants Sub-Basin in South Africa

Following the political changes in the early 1990s, the South African government introduced a comprehensive reform process for the water sector with the goal of achieving an enhanced and more equitable water management system. This paper analyses the existing water allocation situations and applies a non-linear optimisation model to investigate the optimal intraand inter-regional allocation regimes in the Middle Olifants sub-basin of South Africa. Economic issues such as efficiency gains related to water transfers are discussed and calculated water price elasticities and estimated water demand functions provide necessary fundamentals for further modelling work. Social and environmental aspects are accounted for by including constant water demands in the model. Results show higher benefits from inter-regional water allocation. Reducing water supply levels to conform to the sustainable water supply policy, it can be shown that although water supply is reduced by approximately 50%, total benefits from water use are only reduced by 5% and 11% for inter- and intra-regional allocation regimes, respectively. These results indicate that alternative water allocation mechanisms can serve as policy instruments to offset the effects of water scarcity.

Evaluating the costs and benefits of water reuse and exchange projects involving cities and farmers

This article evaluates the economics of alternative water-allocation strategies involving farmers and urban water users, while also presenting a cost–benefit analysis framework for water reuse and exchange projects at the basin level. Case studies from Spain and Mexico show that such projects at the basin level can be economically efficient and financially feasible.

An integrated hydro-economic modelling framework to evaluate water allocation strategies I: Model development

In this paper an integrated modelling framework for water resources planning and management that can be used to carry out an analysis of alternative policy scenarios for water allocation and use is described. The modelling approach is based on integrating a network allocation model (REALM) and a social Cost Benefit economic model, to evaluate the physical and economic outcomes from alternative water allocation policies in a river basin or sub-basin. From a hydrological perspective, surface and groundwater models were first applied to assess surface and groundwater resource availability. Then an allocation model was applied to reconcile the calculated surface and groundwater resources. From an economic perspective initially the value of water allocated to different uses in each demand centre within the system was estimated. These values were then placed in a social Cost Benefit Analysis to assess the economic consequences of different allocation scenarios over time and space. This approach is useful as it allows policymakers to consider not only the physical dimensions of distributing water, but also the economic consequences associated with it. This model is considered superior to other models as water is increasingly being seen as an economic good that should be allocated according to its value. The framework outlined in this paper was applied to the Musi sub-basin located in the Krishna Basin, India. In applying this framework it was concluded that competition for Musi water is very high, the transfer of water from agriculture to urban users is likely to grow in future and the value of water used in different agricultural zones is very low.

Improving Water Use Efficiency Under Worsening Scarcity: Evidence from the Middle Olifants Sub-Basin in South Africa

With the political changes in South Africa in the early 1990s, the South African government introduced a reform process in the entire water sector with the goal of a more enhanced and equitable water management system. This paper analyzes existing water allocation situations and applies a nonlinear optimization model to investigate the optimal intra- and inter-regional allocations in the Middle Olifants sub-basin of South Africa. Results show higher benefit from inter-regional water allocation. Reducing water supply levels to conform to the sustainable water supply policy, it can be shown that although water supply is reduced by approximately 50%, total benefits from water are only reduced by 5% and 11% for inter- and intra-regional allocation regimes respectively. These results indicate that alternative water allocation mechanisms can serve as instruments to offset for the effects of water scarcity.

Alternative Water Allocation in Kyrgyzstan: Lessons from the Lower Colorado River Basin and New South Wales

Focus group discussions and a modeling approach were applied to determine policy and regulatory refinements for current water allocation practices in Kyrgyzstan. Lessons from the Lower Colorado River basin, Texas and New South Wales, Australia were taken into consideration. The paper analyzes the impact of adopting some of these interventions within the socio-environmental context that currently prevails in Kyrgyzstan. The optimization model for water distribution at the river-basin scale was developed using GAMS 2.25 software. Application of the model to the Akbura River basin indicated efficiencies in the proposed institutional rules especially in low water years.

Exploring and Evaluating Scenarios for a River Catchment in Northern Australia Using Scenario Development, Multi-criteria Analysis and a Deliberative Process as a Tool for Water Planning

Water catchments worldwide are experiencing increasing pressure on the quantity and quality of ground and surface water resources. Water managers are increasingly consulting community and stakeholder groups to ensure their decisions reflect the values and preferences of water users. Growing tensions between different water users require the use of techniques that can enable stakeholders to learn about each others’ positions and deliberate about the costs and benefits of alternative water allocation scenarios. This paper describes the use of scenario development, a small group deliberative process (citizens’ jury) and multi-criteria analysis to assist in water planning for the Howard River catchment in the Northern Territory (NT) of Australia. Water planning processes in the NT are in their infancy. As such, this research provides information about stakeholder preferences where none was previously available and demonstrates the use of a new water planning tool. The research found that the process in this case was most useful in providing information to stakeholders, dispelling some unhelpful myths about water use in the catchment, and coalescing opinion about important criteria for assessing future options.

Two solution methods for dynamic game in reservoir operation

During the last decade, a number of models have been developed to consider the conflict in dynamic reservoir operation. Most of these models are discrete dynamic models which are developed based on game theory. In this study, a continuous model of dynamic game and its corresponding solutions are developed for reservoir operation. Two solution methods are used to solve the model of continuous dynamic game, namely the Ricatti equations and collocation methods. The Ricatti equations method is a closed form solution, requiring less computational efforts compared with discrete models. The collocation solution method applies Newton's method or a quasi-Newton method to find the problem solution. These approaches are able to generate operating policies for dynamic reservoir operation. The Zayandeh-Rud river basin in central Iran is used as a case study and the results are compared with alternative water allocation models. The results show that the proposed solution methods are quite capable of providing appropriate reservoir operating policies, while requiring rather short computational times due to continuous formulation of state and decision variables. Reliability indices are used to compare the overall performance of the proposed models. Based on the results from this study, the collocation method leads to improved values of the reliability indices for total reservoir system and utility satisfaction of water users, compared to the Ricatti equations method. This is attributed to the flexible structure of the collocation model. When compared to alternative water allocation models, lower values of reliability indices are achieved by the collocation method.

Distributional Impacts of Water Allocation Policies for an Agricultural Watershed

The study examined the short and long-run efficiency of current and alternative water allocation policies in Ontario. Information was gathered on water supply and the value of water for agricultural irrigation, domestic use and recreation/environmental purposes. A broad 10% reduction of all water takings under Ontario’s Low Water Response plan would cost the residents of the watershed approximately $1.63 million with the bulk of the cost borne by agriculture ($1.59 million). Targeting reductions to minimize costs lowers the total to less than $635,000. In the short-run, simulations showed the efficiency of current Ontario policy could be improved by specifying clear policy objectives in times of scarcity and targeting reductions to lower value uses. Simulations of alternative policies suggested maximum permitted volume fees and volumetric fees provided insufficient incentives to change water use in the short-run and only volumetric fees added incentives to invest in efficiency in the long-run. To achieve reductions in consumptive use in the short-run, volumetric fees would have to be very large and would add significant costs to users. Permit trading systems added significant incentives to allocate water to its most beneficial uses in the short-run and incentives for conservation in the long-run.

Water value, resource rent recovery and economic welfare cost of environmental protection: A water-sector model for the Steelpoort sub-basin in South Africa

This study developed an analytical framework and an empirical water sector model to evaluate current and alternative water allocation regimes in the Steelpoort sub-basin (SPSB) in terms of the key objectives of the national water act of South Africa. The analyses showed that bulk water is currently not only oversupplied to offstream uses in the SPSB at the expense of the ecological Reserve (instream benefits) but also underpriced. The water research levy, the only mechanism used for rent capture, recovers a negligible proportion of the water resource rent (RR) (less than 2% at best) implying that almost all RR dissipates to various offstream users in the form of indirect subsidies of about R0.42/m3 with the more realistic lowprice elasticity assumption. Commercial irrigation enjoys the highest subsidy being the major consumer followed by mining and hence the most to be affected by policy change in this regard. Results also indicate that the total maximum economic value offstream users are willing to pay for increasing water yields to supply the full requirement levels currently enjoyed at the SPSB is estimated at about R2.8/ m3. Although this value does not properly measure the net social gain or loss of environmental protection, it serves as a benchmark value against which per unit costs of potential alternative water supply options can be compared. A few caveats remain as key limitations of the study call for further research work. First, this study did not generate information on instream benefits to compare with offstream values lost as a result of protecting the ecological Reserve. Second, the study can benefit from improved specification of the water sector model parameters, particularly the supply side as better information will allow estimation of an upward sloping supply (marginal cost) curve. Key words: water value, resource rent and subsidies, water sector model, price elasticity of demand Water SA Vol.31(1) 2005: 9-16

QUANTIFYING ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL TRADE-OFFS OF INSTREAM FLOW REQUIREMENTS: A COMPARISON BETWEEN STEWART-HAGAN AND STEWART CROP YIELD RELATIONSHIPS / KWANTIFISERING VAN DIE EKONOMIESE EN OMGEWINGS-WISSELWERKING VAN BINNESTROOMVLOEIVOORSIENING: 'N VERGE-LYKING TUSSEN DIE STEWART-HAGAN EN STEWART GEWASOPBRENGS-VERWANSKAPPE

Chance constrained mathematical programming was used to compare the effects of two different crop yield relationships on the economic cost to irrigation farmers while maintaining an instream flow requirement. Results showed that the Stewart-Hagan programming model underestimated the economic cost and overestimated potential return flows. Water policies based on this model will lead to the implementation of socially unacceptable water allocation policies that may even apply more pressure on stream flows. Meaningful water policies could only be advanced by a thorough understanding of the economic and hydrological consequences of alternative water allocation policies through the integration of economic and hydrological models at catchment level.