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<br /> <br />Economic studies were intended to provide a basis for assessing <br /> <br />~ <br />CJ) the economic impact of a change in salinity levels. Water qual- <br />o <br />(t) ity, water use patterns, and economic conditions were projected <br /> <br />and appropriate discounts made to arrive at representative values~ <br /> <br />Direct penalty costs were then aggregated for the entire impact <br /> <br />area. <br /> <br />Because of the interdependence of numerous economic activities, <br /> <br />there exist indirect effects on the regional economy stemming <br /> <br />from the direct economic impact of salinity upon agricultural <br /> <br />water users. These effects, termed indirect penalty costs, can <br /> <br />be determined if the interdependency of economic activities is <br />known. A simple ratio of direct to indirect impacts was used <br /> <br />based on the EPA study wherein an "input-output model" was devel- <br /> <br />oped to follow changes affecting any agricultural industry <br /> <br />through a chain of transactions in order to identify secondary <br /> <br />or indirect effects on the economy stemming from the direct eco- <br /> <br />nomic costs of salinity. <br /> <br />B. Agricultural Impacts <br /> <br />A number of salinity adaptation practices are presently known <br /> <br />which can help to alleviate crop yield decreases caused by increas- <br /> <br />ing water and soil salinity. As the level of sophistication of <br /> <br />10 <br />