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-~ <br />,~ <br />~- <br />WaterLink was designed by <br />members of the <br />Collaborative Field <br />Demonstration Project: The <br />Natural Heritage Institute, <br />University of California at <br />Berkeley and Davis, <br />farmers and water district <br />administrators. <br />Westlands Water District, California <br />The first and largest electronic water <br />marketing system has been established in <br />Westlands Water District. The system, <br />called WaterLink, went on-line in <br />Westlands in March 1996. Westlands <br />contains close to 600,000 acres and over <br />600 farmers. Its water users trade many <br />different types of water, including Central <br />Valley Project (CVP) contract water, <br />ground water and water imported by <br />Westlands from neighboring water dis- <br />tricts. In a given year, hundreds of thou- <br />sands of acre-feet change hands in the <br />Westlands District, and the market may <br />soon expand to include additional water <br />districts. <br />58 <br />WaterLink enables water users to buy and <br />sell water from their home computers. <br />They can post and read bids and asks, and <br />access weekly and seasonal statistics on <br />average prices and trading volumes. Buyer; <br />and sellers can then use WaterLink to <br />negotiate deals and record trades with <br />their water district. <br />WaterLink also provides many other <br />services. Water users can schedule their <br />water deliveries electronically, and soon <br />they will be able to obtain water account <br />balances much like one obtains a bank <br />account balance at an ATM. This account <br />ing feature will enable water users to <br />