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<br />001060 <br /> <br />A: Yes. The encouragement of water conservation by water districts is a subject that touches <br /> <br />more than water policy. It goes to other issues we are discussing at this meeting, in particular, <br /> <br />issues of governance of the districts and values that westerners place in water. These are <br /> <br />beyond this paper. Nonetheless, I can summarize a few steps that all levels of government <br /> <br />might take that would appear to promote efficient conservation short of reaching the bigger <br />issues. In summary fashion, they are: <br /> <br />1. I would start, first, with clarifications to state policy. States should consider clarifying <br /> <br /> <br />their water law to assure that conservation and transfer of agricultural water (at least by the <br /> <br /> <br />districts) is a beneficial use, subject to limitations to avoid environmental damage (such as <br /> <br /> <br />cutting down phreatophytes, drying up wetlands etc.). Transfers of conserved water should be <br /> <br /> <br />lawful, as long as no other water rights' holder is injured. And any forfeiture or abandonment <br /> <br /> <br />provisions in state law that might render district or farmers vulnerable to the loss of water <br /> <br /> <br />rights upon conservation should be set aside. In addition, states might attempt to overcome <br /> <br /> <br />institutional resistance to conservation by requiring districts that are political'subdivisions of the <br /> <br /> <br />state to review their policies to ascertain whether they unnecessarily discourage conservation. <br /> <br /> <br />(This step would be politically difficult in many western states.) Finally, states might entertain <br /> <br /> <br />the notion of guiding municipalities seeking to augment water supplies through transfers of <br /> <br /> <br />agricultural water to look to conserved water rather than wholesale purchases of water rights <br /> <br /> <br />which dry up whole areas. <br /> <br />2 Districts should consider the use of inverted block rate structures for the sale of <br /> <br /> <br />water to their farmers. Focusing on rate structures rather than rates is a way to send a price <br /> <br />25 <br />