Water Market Research Articles

Sociometric assessment of brands of mineral water

Today, in conditions of intense competition and dynamic development of the market, brands play a major role in the sustainable development of the enterprise. It is the brands that provide security, confidence of competitors, strengthen the position of the product in the minds of consumers, facilitate the promotion of new products and conquer new niches in the market. It also strengthens the trust of partners providing the enterprise with access to human, financial, informational and other resources, and reduces the sensitivity of the consumer audience to the price factor. Of particular importance is the issue of brands in the mineral water market, where one of the most problematic places, in conditions of intense competition, is the presentation of comprehensive research, the identification of basic food needs and consumption characteristics of this particular product. Therefore, the object of this research is the process of sociometric assessment of mineral water brands. A sociometric analysis of brands along with quantitative indicators is carried out; they are the most important qualitative criteria for assessing brands. A methodological approach to the sociometric assessment of brands in the mineral water market is proposed, the sociometric status and strength of brands are determined based on the assessment of the significance of its individual attributes. The presented brand rating allows to highlight the factors affecting the choice of a mineral water brand for a consumer audience. Sociometric surveys were conducted and a sociometric matrix and brand card were formed. The results of the analysis of sociometric assessment allow to identify the main trends in the consumption of mineral water, highlight the prospects for developing a brand leader strategy in the market through the introduction of innovative technologies, motivation and staff development. As well as developing programs for effective brand management and highlighting the main advantages of the brand. Prospects for further research are monitoring and auditing the Ukrainian mineral water market, analysis of brand strategies and methods to increase the competitiveness of the brand as a whole.

The Market and Common-Pool Resource Problem: Surface Water Trading and Groundwater Depletion in California

This paper examines how a surface water market affects the performance of a groundwater basin that is in open access. The market only solves the groundwater over-extraction problem when pumping costs are high, while market failure arises when the common pool resource (CPR) problem is severe. I build a theoretical model to analyze the agricultural water use in California Central Valley. The model establishes the link between the efficacy of surface water market and the farmers' crop choices in response to water supply changes. I use a micro level crop choice data to test the theory and find that the farmers rarely react to short-term water supply variations. In particular, crop acreage does not fall during droughts. This implies that pumping costs are low and sellers replace whatever amount they sell with groundwater. Therefore, surface water trade is inefficient when taking into account the depletion of groundwater resource and should be curtailed until the CPR problem is addressed.

Маркетинговое исследование рынка бутилированной питьевой воды

Drinking water holds a valuable place in human ration. When choosing a water brand, the consumer is guided by a number of factors. Customers place various demands on a product. Thus, during the market launch the manufacturer needs to
 know the consumer’s attitude to a given product. The determinant factors for product purchase include consumer’s knowledge of product trade names, information awareness, recognition of the product among other manufacturers, and advertising response. The marketing research was conducted in the city of Biysk (Altai Krai, Russia) and pursued the following goals: to determine public attitudes to bottled drinking water; to assess the factors that influence buying decisions; to evaluate the perspective presence of Altai Krai’s manufacturers at the bottled water market. The research was done through questionnaire survey and provided fairly complete information on consumers’ opinions, choices, and behavior. This survey covered different consumer categories, a total of 300 respondents of different age groups, income level, and social class. The survey results demonstrated that 56.6% of the respondents still use tap water. However, only 15.8% actually give their precedence to tap water value account; the remaining 84.2% can therefore be viewed as potential customers. The survey revealed that the major consumer’s criterion for water is the product price (42.8%). The second criterion in order of importance is the water quality, which constituted 16.7% of the total number of respondents. The paper contains data on consumers’ preferences by water manufacturers. The consumers were found to use water of manufacturers from other regions (51.6%). Only 42.4% gave their preference to local manufacturers, though Altai Krai is famous for its environmentally-clean drinking water sources. Price choices for drinking water were ascertained, and 53.6% of the respondents were found to be ready to pay 40 to 60 rubles per liter, which corresponds with the local manufacturers’ pricing policy. When asked if the quality of local water brands is trustworthy, the great majority of the consumers (86.4%) gave credit to the local manufacturers’ water quality. Based on the data on favourite brands, the most popular brands turned out to be the most promoted ones. The local manufacturers’ efforts in this direction require available persuasion means, such as ad placement in mass media and promotional events at sales places.

Empirical Application of Rubinstein Bargaining Model in Western U.S. Water Transactions

Water transactions are proposed as a policy tool for increasing regional drought resilience and improving allocative efficiency. However, water trading deviates considerably from classical competitive markets and alternative theoretical approaches are useful for understanding water market structure and performance. In this paper, we model a bilateral water transaction using a non-cooperative bargaining model. Then we empirically test predictions regarding time preference, outside options, and water supply risk. The econometric analysis encompasses two transaction regions: Colorado’s Front Range and New Mexico’s Middle Rio Grande Basin. We find evidence suggesting that larger cities pay lower prices in water transactions, faster growing and higher income cities pay higher prices and that prices are higher when snowpack variability is higher. Findings suggest that a stronger time preference results in a less favorable price for urban buyers and that buyer risk-aversion is a greater disadvantage in bargaining in locations with greater water supply variability.

Emerging water and carbon market opportunities for environmental water and climate regulation ecosystem service provision

Markets are increasingly part of government, non-government, and private business provision of public environmental interests. Key examples include carbon credit markets and environmental water markets. Market demand for carbon credits from sequestration are expected to expand in size and geographic scope as a result of climate action obligations and increased carbon credit tradability provisions in the Paris Agreement on climate change. Market based reallocations of water are also increasingly common. The increased use of markets for multiple and related environmental good provision will inevitably introduce synergies and risks in joint ecosystem service provision. This study assesses water and carbon ecosystem service supply potential for a joint carbon and water market participation strategy using a case study of the lower Murrumbidgee, in the Murray-Darling Basin. The methodology is a dynamic hydro-economic simulation of river flows, floodplain inundation, forest carbon dynamics, carbon credit value, and water opportunity cost. The study results indicate possible synergies in joint provision of carbon sequestration and environmental flow benefits through a carbon-water trading strategy. This involves funds for environmental water purchases generated through sale of carbon credits from improved floodplain conditions. Results identify limited trading opportunities at the current carbon price (AU$13/tCO2), resulting in an economically viable re-allocation of 2.31 GL/year (0.1% of water currently diverted for irrigation) to the environment with frequent years of zero re-allocation. At prices above AU$20/tCO2, there may be additional trading opportunities and as much as 5% of current irrigation diversion was predicted to be reallocated at AU$100/tCO2. While the results are particular to the case study, the conclusions discussing policy design challenges related to realizing effective environmental improvements in interacting carbon and water markets are relevant to many water catchments globally.

Interactive land use strategic assessment: An assessment tool for irrigation profitability under climate uncertainty

The Interactive Land use Strategic Assessment (ILSA) tool allows irrigators to examine and compare the likely effects of a range uncertain future climates on their individual enterprise along multiple time frames. The scientific basis of the tool is predicated on the influence of the prevailing climate conditions on expected levels of water allocations for irrigation activities under multiple climate scenarios.The model reports both annual returns and ten year average annual expected returns, given probability weighted allocations for a selected decade and climate scenario. Irrigators are able to adjust default farm operational parameters to suit their particular circumstances and examine the expected returns across multiple possible future water availability and market price years.A case study in the Loxton irrigation district of Southern Australia demonstrates the models capability examining the effects climate change, climatic variability, and water trade have on irrigation operations in a manner that is understandable to irrigators.

Examining volatility dynamics, spillovers and government water recovery in Murray-Darling Basin water markets

Although participation in water markets is widespread among irrigators in the Murray-Darling Basin of Australia, there has been a lack of study on the dynamics of water markets, in particular price and volume dynamics, volatility and spillovers. Questions have also been raised regarding the impact on markets from governments buying back permanent water from consumptive use to return to environmental use. VARX-BEKK-GARCH time-series regression was used to model the water market dynamics of monthly permanent and temporary water market trade from 1997 to 2017 in one of the largest water markets in the Murray-Darling Basin, the Goulburn-Murray Irrigation District. Results suggest that the temporary market was more volatile than the permanent market, while persistency in volatility only exists in permanent markets. Unidirectional transmission spillovers exists in both markets from prices to volumes. The main drivers of temporary water prices were water scarcity related, while permanent prices were most significantly influenced by previous permanent water prices and current temporary water market prices. A statistically significant negative impact on temporary volume-traded from government water recovery (e.g. a 1% increase in water recovery resulted in a 0.14% reduction in water volume-traded) was found, but no significant impact from government recovery was found on temporary water prices, nor on permanent market prices and volumes. However, government water recovery increased the volatility of temporary market prices and volumes, signaling potential increased issues of risk and uncertainty for irrigators engaging in temporary water markets.

Avaliação da Qualidade de Águas Minerais Comercializadas no Município de Niterói - RJ

The consumption of mineral water has grown worldwide and is associated with growing concern about water quality, in part due to the pollution of surface water bodies and the search for a healthier lifestyle. According to the National Department of Mineral Production (DNPM), in 2014, Brazil remained the 5th largest bottled water market in the world and the 8th largest producer in the world, consuming 19.5 billion liters. Faced with the wide demand for good quality water, it is necessary constant monitoring bottled mineral water. This work aims to determine if the physicochemical characteristics of bottled mineral waters consumed in the municipality of Niteroi are in accordance with what is presented on the water bottle label and with Brazilian legislation. To attend this objective, physicochemical, ionic, and microbiological analyses were performed in four distinct brands over four months. The analyzed waters can be classified as sodium and calcium bicarbonate. The obtained results show that the mineral waters studied are according to the limits established by the Brazilian legislation. However, the concentrations of the larger dissolved ions were higher than the one described on the label, indicating a possible geochemical evolution of the water collected from the sources.

The diversity of water markets: Prospects and perils for the SDG agenda

AbstractWater markets are used in a wide variety of contexts to (a) increase access to water, and (b) increase water use efficiency by reallocating water to uses with a higher economic value. The global prevalence of water markets may help or hinder achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 6, making it essential to understand their role in water management. However, an overarching understanding of what water markets are and how they work across different regulatory and geographic contexts is surprisingly elusive. The literature separates water markets based on their formality and the nature of the goods and services being sold (typically either domestic water or agricultural), but growing water scarcity and increasing urban water demands means that agricultural and urban water use can no longer be considered separately. This review brings together two disparate strands of literature on water markets: (a) markets as a tool for re‐allocation between agricultural uses (including both water rights and irrigation services), and (b) urban water markets to expand access to safe water supplies. Based on a review of 148 studies of water markets, this article explores the similarities and differences between urban and agricultural markets across the spectrum of regulatory formality to identify key findings in water market operation and outcomes, including critiques of market function. Bringing together the work on urban and agricultural water markets highlights important lessons on the role water markets can play in achieving SDG 6.This article is categorized under: Human Water > Value of Water Engineering Water > Sustainable Engineering of Water

Integrating water quality and operation into prediction of water production in drinking water treatment plants by genetic algorithm enhanced artificial neural network

Stringent regulations and deteriorating source water quality could greatly influence the water production capacity of drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs). Using models to predict the performance of DWTPs under stress provides valuable information for decision making and future planning. A hybrid statistic model named HANN was established by combining artificial neural network (ANN) with genetic algorithm (GA) aiming at forecasting the overall performance of DWTPs nationwide in China. Monthly data from 45 DWTPs across China was employed. Water quality parameters like temperature and chemical oxygen demand (COD) and operational parameters like electricity consumption and chemical consumption were selected as input variables, while drinking water production was employed as the output. Both preliminary data analysis and principal component analysis (PCA) suggested a clear non-linear relationship between the input and output variables. The structure of the HANN model was optimized by employing the lowest mean squared error (MSE) as the indicator. The resultant HANN model performed well when simulating the training datasets. Its predictive accuracy for the independent test datasets was enhanced when feeding more training datasets and the performance was constantly higher than the independent multi-layered ANN models using the coefficient of determination (R2) as the indicator, indicating the HANN model was capable of capturing complex non-linear relationship and extrapolation. Results from Accuracy test, Garson sensitivity analysis and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) suggested the quantity of water produced by DWTPs was closely linked to water quality and operational parameters. The scenario analysis showed that the HANN model was capable of predicting water production variation based on the parameter variations, indicating that the HANN model could be a general management tool for decision makers and DWTP managers to make plans in advance of regulatory changes, source water quality variations and market demand.

Water productivity assessments for dwarf coconut by using Landsat 8 images and agrometeorological data

In the coastal areas of Northeast Brazil, coconut growers are replacing the tall varieties by the dwarf ones, following incentives for the coconut’s water market. The current study aimed to determine and analyze actual evapotranspiration (ET) and biomass production (BIO), for dwarf coconut water productivity (WP) assessments. This was done to subsidize the rational irrigation and crop management, by using Landsat 8 images together with agrometeorological data during the year 2016 in the Camocim County, coastal zone of Ceará state. The SAFER (Simple Algorithm for Evapotranspiration Retrieving) algorithm was used to retrieve ET, while for BIO estimations we applied the Monteith’s radiation use efficiency model (RUE), then the water productivity based on ET was calculated (WPET = BIO/ET). The highest ET and BIO rates, above 4.0 ± 0.6 mm d−1 and 140 ± 37 kg ha−1 d−1, respectively, happened from May to July, retrieving WPET pixel values larger than 3.5 kg m−3. It was noticed some water stress conditions, with the fraction ET to reference evapotranspiration (ET0) dropping below 0.60 from the start of August to the end of the year, affecting the WPET values. Considering also WP in terms of fruits and coconut’s water produced, it averaged 1.9 coconut fruits and 0.8 L of coconut water per cubic meter of water consumed, respectively. The results can support techniques for irrigation water storage at the palm root zones, while increasing dwarf coconut yield in Northeast Brazil.

Determinants of Water Market Prices in the Western United States

As water markets continue to evolve throughout the western U.S., understanding what factors influence the price of water is informative to water users seeking to engage in transactions. Using 690 water lease transactions and 1,351 water rights transactions from the journal Water Strategist we analyze and provide insights into the effect of user type in the transaction process, hydrologic conditions, geographic location and lease length upon water prices. This analysis is conducted for both a rights transfer and leasing marketplace.

Public Attitudes to Inequality in Water Distribution: Insights From Preferences for Water Reallocation From Irrigators to Aboriginal Australians

AbstractWater allocation regimes that adjudicate between competing uses are in many countries under pressure to adapt to increasing demands, climate‐driven shortages, expectations for equity of access, and societal changes in values and priorities. International authorities expound standards for national allocation regimes that include robust processes for addressing the needs of “new entrants” and for varying existing entitlements within sustainable limits. The claims of Indigenous peoples to water represents a newly recognized set of rights and interests that will test the ability of allocation regimes to address the global water governance goal of equity. No study has sought to identify public attitudes or willingness to pay for a fairer allocation of water rights between Indigenous and non‐Indigenous people. We surveyed households from the jurisdictions of Australia's Murray‐Darling Basin, a region undergoing a historic government‐led recovery of water, and found that 69.2% of respondents support the principle of reallocating a small amount of water from irrigators to Aboriginal people via the water market. Using contingent valuation, we estimated households are willing to pay A$21.78 in a one‐off levy. The aggregate value calculated for households in the basin's jurisdictions was A$74.5 million, which is almost double a recent government commitment to fund the acquisition of entitlements for Aboriginal nations of this basin. Results varied by state of residency and affinity with environmental groups. An information treatment that presented narrative accounts from Aboriginal people influenced the results. Insights from this study can inform water reallocation processes.

Sensory study and trends of the purified water market UTCGG Petatlán, GRO

Objectives: To evaluate the sensory characteristics (taste, smell, clarity and brilliance) of UT Purified Water, and identify new products with the possibility that in the future they will be commercialized in the potential consumer and business markets of Petatlán and Zihuatanejo de Azueta, Gro ., as well as its area of influence. Methodology: Quantitative Research, Descriptive type and stratified sampling. The population corresponds to 2,132 students from 7 different educational programs; 60 are professors of the teaching staff of the UTCGG, 45 administrative and service staff of the UTCGG. So the population size is (N) = 2237, it is for that reason that the author's formula Díaz, 2011 was used. Contribution: The Academic Logistics and International Businesses in coordination with the Academic Science and Technology of Foods in the Costa Grande of the state of Guerrero of the Technological University of the Costa Grande de Guerrero (UTCGG) headquarters in the city of Petatlán, is of interest to know the possibility of launching to the market the packaged product of purified water that is processed in the plant of the aforementioned educational program. This is a study of the sensory characteristics of purified water currently produced by the UTCGG purification plant, as well as market trends, a survey was applied to 185 people among students, administrative staff and teachers of the University, with The purpose of knowing if UT purified water turns out to be competitive to market it in the not distant future.

Transboundary Water Conflict Resolution Mechanisms: Substitutes or Complements

This paper examines the transboundary water resources conflict resolution mechanisms. Various academic fields have provided conflict resolution mechanisms that could be used to analyse transboundary water conflicts. These mechanisms include social planner, water market, game theory, static and dynamic systems engineering models, and negotiation analyses. These mechanisms share some common characteristic features. This similarity has led to a general belief that these mechanisms are competitive substitutes. However, closer examination by this research reveals that these mechanisms have more complementarity than similarity. This complementarity permits researchers and practitioners to combine any two or more of them to develop more comprehensive mechanisms with stronger analytical capacity to analyse the different elements of the process of transboundary water conflict resolution.

Measuring Hazard Vulnerability by Bank Erosion of the Ganga River in Malda District Using PAR Model

River banks are characterised by dynamic environments that change in response to a variety of inputs. Bank erosion ordinarily means losses of bank materials and individual particles or aggregates by fluvial, sub-aerial and geo-tectonic processes. It is a common phenomenon of geomorphic hazard associated with flood plains and meandering or braided river system. The problem of bank erosion and shifting of the course of the river Ganga in certain C.D. blocks of Malda District is not purely an environment-related problem but a unique combination of both environment and ‘development’ project. The objective of the present paper is to measure the vulnerability of the villages that are situated adjacent to the Ganga River. Data was obtained from both primary as well as secondary sources. The primary data was collected through observation method and through informal interviews with the affected people. Secondary information was obtained from various research works encountered during the study. The study was framed on the lines of Pressure and Release (PAR) model developed by Wisner, Blaikie, Cannon and Davis (1994 & 2003). The inhabitants of these villages are facing serious problems related to employment, health, education, sanitation, drinking water supply and market due to the river bank erosion. In some areas people suffer from the irony of dual citizenship. No remedial measures are seriously taken by concerned authorities to solve this problem. Thus, it is incumbent on the part of the government and NGOs to devise corrective mechanism to curb the threat to the existence of the affected people as well as to improve their quality of life.

Chemical composition of Chilean bottled waters: Anomalous values and possible effects on human health

The Chilean bottled water market has experienced continuous growth since 2000, surpassing 500 million liters sold in 2015. Generally, consumers tend to associate the consumption of bottled water with a healthy lifestyle, but current Chilean law does not require the product to be labelled with the chemical composition, thus preventing consumers from making informed choices.Our study focuses on determining the water quality of ten brands of bottled water available for sale in Santiago, Chile. All of the analyzed water was not carbonated and in plastic containers in the 1.5 L size when available and the closest size to this when not available. Thirty-two chemical elements were analyzed, including minor and trace elements, and the data have been evaluated with respect to the limits established by Chilean and international regulatory agencies.Our results indicate that the quality of the analyzed water generally complies with Chilean law for bottled water. However, 30% of the analyzed samples exceed the values of arsenic (As) permitted by Chilean drinking water regulations, the World Health Organization and the United States Environmental Protection Agency. In 40% of the samples, the NO3 content is higher than groundwater values suggesting that the source of the bottled water is superficial. The purified bottled water brands contain minimal amounts of dissolved elements but do not comply with all of the parameters (e.g., pH) established by Chilean drinking water regulations.Our study highlights that there is an inconsistency between the Chilean norms that regulate bottled water and those that regulate drinking water. Some of the analyzed bottled waters do not comply with the drinking water regulations and paradoxically these brands should not be consumed by humans. However, risk assessment calculations for As ingestion show that the consumption of 1 L/day of bottled water does not pose a risk for human health.

Optimal irrigation for sustainable development considering water rights transaction: A Stackelberg-Nash-Cournot equilibrium model

This paper focuses on water allocation in an irrigation district considering water rights transaction. The relationship between the reservoir authority and the sub-area managers is explored based on a novel Stackelberg-Nash-Cournot equilibrium model. In this framework, the reservoir authority has higher priority in allocating initial water rights to Sancha town, Danjing and Xinmin villages; after get the decisions from the reservoir authority, the sub-area managers decide water distribution to multi-crops planting areas and water rights transaction with the promise of Nash-Cournot equilibrium, then the reservoir authority can modify his decision by Stackelberg strategic interaction. To obtain the optimal irrigation strategy, fuzzy goal programming and genetic algorithm methods are applied. In this context, a Stackelberg-Nash-Cournot equilibrium solution can be obtained. The proposed model is applied to Sancha irrigation area, and the results show that more available water can be distributed in Sancha town while guaranteeing the equity among the sub-areas in this irrigation district; more water was utilized for wheat and oilseed rape than paddy and bean, which matched the fact that wheat and oilseed rape grow in quarters with relatively less rainfall inflows. A changeable and uncertain environment, regarding inflow levels, planting areas, and irrigation coefficient, take potential challenges to agricultural irrigation process. Hence, to cope with the challenges, cope with the future uncertainty and offer more information on the adjustment of agricultural irrigation patterns, scenario technique is applied by changing the three parameters – inflow levels, planting areas, and irrigation coefficient respectively. Finally, to highlight the superiority of the proposed model, a comparative analysis is conducted in a situation without considering the water market, which verifies the importance and effectiveness of water rights transaction.

VALORACIÓN SOCIOECONÓMICA DEL PAGO POR SERVICIOS AMBIENTALES HIDROLÓGICOS EN VERACRUZ (COATEPEC Y SAN ANDRES TUXTLA)


 
 
 Se trabajó en las poblaciones de San Andrés Tuxtla y Coatepec, en el estado de Veracruz, México, que representan zonas que han recibido pago por servicios ambientales hidrológicos (PSAH) desde el año 2004. El objetivo fue analizar el impacto socioeconómico del PSAH en función del mercado local de agua, obtener las percepciones sociales del valor del agua y el posible impacto de la aplicación del PSAH. Se utilizó análisis etnográfico, sociológico y valoración contingente en una muestra de 171 consumidores en Coatepec y 228 en San Andrés, así como 85 productores, 45 de ellos de Coatepec. Los resultados mostraron que la población privilegia los valores económicos de los paisajes que componen las zonas de pago. Existe un fuerte potencial para incorporar el reconocimiento social en la generación de servicios ambientales, lo que podría incrementar el pago a los productores para observar un impacto socioeconómico real del PSAH. Se identificaron diferencias entre los actores respecto a valor de un m3 de agua, tanto dentro como entre zonas, ya que los valores fiscales de referencia y del productor fueron mayores en Coatepec. Los programas de conservación y las políticas públicas inherentes deberán considerar la voluntad de todos los actores sociales para obtener un impacto visible.
 
 

An economic-operational framework for optimum agricultural water distribution in irrigation districts without water marketing

Water markets in developing countries are difficult to implement due to social, environmental, and technical restrictions. However, the primary concern in irrigation districts with a lack of a functioning market mechanism is the economically efficient allocation of water. In this light, the objective of this study is the development of an Economic-Operational framework that could be used for the most economically efficient allocation of water. This framework is expected to provide an infrastructure for delivering volumetric mutually-related main economic components: Positive Mathematical Programing (PMP) and the Model Predictive Control (MPC) which is added as an operational model component. The economic model (PMP) simulates the existing conditions surrounding the agricultural activities and calculates the agricultural sector’s income, as well as the economic value of water, considering current cropping patterns and the economic value of water. Consequently, the operational model (MPC) distributes and delivers water to the agricultural units based on the weighted average of water’s economic value. Operational performance of the entire canal system is then assessed based on the customized operational assessment indicators for developing the framework. Finally, the last part of the framework includes performance evaluation of the approach introduced in the present study with respect to sustainable development goals, using the multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) method. For this purpose, the effect of any changes in the calculated volume of water, through employing the framework, on the economic, social, and environmental indicators can be observed.This framework is expected to provide a guideline for the water authorities in ranking the inter-sectoral impacts of economic, social, and environmental effects of the operational scenarios. The developed framework provides a mechanism in which managers and planners of irrigation districts can test and assess their policies in different schemes before implementation. Also, the framework will produce the economic results of possible actions of farmers involving different managerial, climatic, and agricultural scenarios. The developed framework is then tested on the Roodasht Irrigation District, located in the semi-arid region in Iran. The simulation results are then examined.