WSP00180

• File Number: 8271.300
• Description: Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program - General Information and Publications-Reports
• Basin: Colorado Mainstem
• Water Division: 5
• Date: 3/1/1981
• Title: Feasibility of Financial Incentives to Reuse Low Quality Waters in the Colorado River Basin
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

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CHAPTER III. POTENTIAL BENEFITS FROM REUSE
OF SALINE OR LOW QUALITY WATER

The preceding chapters have described the physical and legal
aspects of salinity in the Colorado River Basin. Except for meeting
legal requirements for salinity control, however, this report has not
discussed the potential benefits (economic and other) that can result
from achieving a higher degree of reuse of saline and low quality
water by selected industrial water users.

This chapter first describes the economic damages (penalty
costs) caused by salinity of water in the Colorado River Basin. Next,
the economic benefits of salinity control are summarized and the
amenity and health effects of salinity reduction are briefly discussed.
Next, the concept of salinity control as a beneficial use of water is
introduced. Finally, the chapter explores the question of who should
pay for programs to stimulate industrial reuse of saline and low qual-
ity water as a salinity reduction measure,

Economic Damages (Penalty Costs) Caused by Salinity of CRB Water*

In this section, the literature on salinity-related damages and
on the value of irrigation water are reviewed to provide the basis for
evaluating the net benefits of salinity load reduction in the Upper Ba-
sin.

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Water management programs designed to reduce the salt load going ,t:,tf ,
into the Colorado River generally have two effects: (1) they reduce the , ,,\Y' :'
number of tons of salt going into the river annually, and (2) they changel ~."'.' ;/" j
the volume of water (quantity) depletions taking place. For example, a J,'Y" ,rJI" '
program of increasing the efficiency of on-fam application of irriga- V~ __,II
tion water will reduce the pickup of natural salts from soil by deep It-, ! &-r ,
percolation, at the same time reducing total evapotranspiration per acre kYvV/ ~
of crops. Thus salt pickup would be reduced while the volume of water~. . ~
diverted and consumed per acre would be reduced. ." t ' ,,0
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As another example, if agricultural land in areas where salt ,.\ t V"
pickup is extreme is simply phased out of irrigation, both salt loading,
and evapotranspiration will again be reduced and the volume of water :
available to other users along the river system will be increased. A,\Ar-"
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*This section of Chapter III was written by Dr. Caarles W. Howe,
Professor of Economics, University of Colorado, who participated with the
study team.

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