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<br />b. Economic stability--maintain current level: The direct <br />net economic value foregone from partially reduced <br />irrigation water supplies falls generally in the range of <br />$5-$30 per acre-foot, depending on location and type of use. <br />The net value of that water transferred to industrial and <br />household use may be five to ten times or more as high as <br />the losses in the agricultural sector.s <br /> <br />These figures do not take into account the indirect impacts <br />of water transfer, which may include losses in government <br />investment for schools, roads, health care, and public <br />safety. <br /> <br />since the market availability of land and water resources <br />often reflect personal and family choices and circumstances <br />(e.g. retirement plans), it is not necessarily the least <br />productive agricultural land or irrigation rights that are <br />being sold for municipal and industrial transfers of water. <br />Water buyers are often willing and able to pay higher prices <br />to buy land with the most secure and senior water rights, <br />regardless of the kind of production or profitability of the <br />farm. 9 <br /> <br />c. FUture growth: The economics of the area-of-need are <br />considered by the water court insofar as the needs of the <br />purchasing entity drive its search for supplies of water and <br />justify its application for transfer of the water. The <br />courts have permitted municipalities to own.more water than <br />is necessary for current needs to meet the necessity of <br />planning for future population growth. However, the <br />economic stability and growth of an area-of-origin is not a <br />point of consideration by the water court. <br /> <br />Determining how much water can be removed from an area-of- <br />origin without hurting its future growth is difficult, if <br />not impossible, to determine. Estimates of business <br />development and employment opportunities that can feasibly <br />evolve in a particular area involve a certain amount of <br />guesswork. <br /> <br />The amount of time involved in the purchase of water rights <br />and the proceedings in water court to change the type and <br />place of use of those rights, make transfers of water <br />neither sudden nor unexpected. Areas-of-origin have time to <br />adjust and may be able to develop new sources of economic <br />stability, just as some former mining towns have become <br />centers of tourism and recreation. Whether there are <br />alternative sources of business that are feasible for any <br />specific area-of-origin, and whether those alternative <br />sources will provide jobs of similar income and skill level <br />would require further study. <br /> <br />12 <br />