PUB00158 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Water Marketing: Obstacles and Opportunities New market-based management strategies may prompt conservation and lead to higher-value uses of water resources. BY KENNETH D. FREDERICK reshwater is a scarce and often threatened re- source throughout much of the United States, but particularly in the arid West. Supplies are being depleted or degraded by unsustainable rates of ground- water use, contamination, and damage to aquatic eco- systems. Meanwhile, demands for water are rising with an expanding population, higher incomes, and a growing appreciation for the services and amenities provided by streams, lakes, and other aquatic resources. But the options for increasing sup- plies are expensive relative to current water prices and are often envi- ronmentally damaging. Providing for increasing water demands requires changes in how water has traditionally been managed and allocated among competing uses. There is a growing consensus that greater reliance on economic principles in managing and allo- cating water is critical for more ef- ficient and sustainable use. More than a quarter century ago, the U.S. National Water Commission's Final Report to the President and to the Congress made a strong case for facilitating volun- tary water transfers to promote a more-efficient allocation of scarce water resources and to curb the perceived need for additional wa- 54 . FORUM for Applitd RtStarch and Public Policy ter supply projects. I In 1992, the International Conference on Wa- ter and the EnViro~ment in Dublin and the Earth ummit in Rio both endorsed vie ing water as an economic good. I troducing economic incentives wa also one of the core recommen ations of the World Bank policy paper on water Resource Manage ent pre- pared that same year. 2 In 2000, the World om mis- sion on Water for the [1 st Cen- tury concluded that we are on a path toward a water crisi and that business as usual is unsus ainable.3 The commission's prop sals for changing course include ecogniz- ing that water is a scarce resource and that we need to man ge it ac- cordingly.