Slide 1Slide 2Slide 3Slide 4Slide 5Slide 6Slide 7Slide 8Slide 9AGEC/FNR 406 LECTURE 32Potential problems affecting water1. Use exceeds recharge (depletion)2. Water used as input in production, quality impaired, then discharged(degradation)3. Environment used as a “sink” for wastes- groundwater- surface water- oceansWater is a natural resourceLike forests and fisheries, water is replenishable but depletableThree types of water resources:1. Surface water2. Groundwater3. Oceans (special case of #1)Surface WaterIncludes rivers, lakes, streams (and oceans).Significant source of drinking water(40% in Indiana)Important for recreation (fishing, swimming, and boating)Wide range of damages (chemical, thermal, biochemical oxygen demand-BOD)Surface water: economic viewEconomic goal: max NPV from use 1. Dynamic considerations arise if:a. Surface water is scarceb. Supply and demand are uncertainand storage is possible2. Consumptive and non-consumptive uses must be considered. Uses may be competitive or may overlap.GroundwaterSubsurface water beneath a water table. May occur in rocks, soils, or fully-saturated geological formations.Very important source of drinking water(60% in Indiana)Also used for irrigation.Vulnerable to chemical contamination and depletion at rates above recharge.Groundwater: economic view If regeneration is slow, dynamic considerations applyIndiana: recharge rapidFarther west (Ogallala Aquifer) recharge is slow. Historically, no one has paid the MUC so rate of pumping has been privately optimal but socially sub-optimal. Goal: equate marginal benefits across users.OceansFormerly ignored and difficult to monitorImportant for:1. Food supply2. Marine life and associated recreation3. Drinking water in some placesMain sources of damage:1. Oil spills2. Ocean dumpingProperty rights1. Riparian rights: ownership of water connected to ownership of land2. Prior appropriation doctrine: first-come, first-served3. Usufructory rights:right of use, not
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