Water Policy

Watershed projects play an increasingly important role in managing soil and water resources throughout the world. Research is needed to ensure that new projects draw upon lessons from their predecessors’ experiences. However, the technical and social complexities of watershed projects make evaluation difficult. Quantitative and qualitative evaluation methods, which traditionally have been used separately, both have strengths and weaknesses. Combining them can make evaluation more effective, particularly when constraints to study design exist. This paper presents mixed-method approaches for evaluating watershed projects. A recent evaluation in India provides illustrations.

Water and watersheds are difficult to separate for management purposes. Providing irrigation as a supplement to rainfall for crop production requires considerable collective action at the watershed level to mobilize labor and other resources, as well as to make decisions and implement the distribution of benefits. Small-scale water harvesting irrigation systems in Mexico have endured for centuries. They now face considerable challenges with changes in the ejido property rights over land and water, the growing importance of alternative sources of livelihoods, and increasing scarcity and competition for water within the river basins.

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the modern history of hydroeconomics. It provides a critical review of the work and publications in 1986–1993 of a group of university academics, and professionals from the international banks, who launched a methodological revolution in the study of water and wastewater services for households in Africa. The strengths and weaknesses of their contributions are assessed in order to draw some lessons for contemporary research.

It is often assumed that the main cause of contemporary erosion and dam sedimentation in tropical watersheds is the cultivation of steep slopes. This study, using fallout 137Cs to estimate net sediment loss since 1963 found erosion in the Nizao watershed of the Dominican Republic to be much lower than often reported for steep tropical hillsides. Because only 17% of the sediment moving into the reservoirs can be attributed to surface agricultural erosion, policies to eliminate upland agriculture will have limited benefits if the principal sources are of natural origin or associated with construction of the dams, and rural roads and trails.

The competition for limited water resources between agriculture and more highly valued domestic and industrial water uses is rapidly increasing and will likely require the transfer of water out of agriculture. This paper reviews and synthesizes the available evidence of the effects of water transfers from agricultural to urban and industrial areas on local and regional rural economies; and analyzes the possible impacts of a large reallocation on global food supply and demand. It concludes with a discussion of the potential for water policy reform and demand management to minimize adverse impacts when water is reallocated from agriculture. It is argued that comprehensive reforms are required to mitigate the potentially adverse impacts of water transfers for local communities and to sustain crop yield and output growth to meet rising food demands at the global level. Key policy reforms include the establishment of secure water rights to users; the decentralization and privatization of water management functions to appropriate levels; the use of incentives including pricing reform, especially in urban contexts, and markets in tradable property rights; and the introduction of appropriate water-saving technologies.

Scarcity of good quality water has led many countries to introduce demand-based water management in the irrigated agriculture section in place of the existing supply-based water management. This transition requires institutional changes, including the formation of Water User Associations (WUAs). The paper reviews the constraints of irrigated agriculture in Pakistan and discusses the conditions for success in the formation of farmers’ organizations. This paper seeks to show that the development of WUAs is a vital step in the development of integrated water resource management. It is argued that IWRM is a prerequisite for a sustainable society in water-dependent countries that are increasingly water-scarce—like the paternalistic and bureaucratic societies of South Asia.

Corruption can determine the allocation of water in a large, public, canal-irrigation system. The socio-economic characteristics of farmers who participate in illegal exchanges are analyzed using hydraulic and socio-economic field data collected in 420 canal outlets of a southern Punjab irrigation system in Pakistan. A theoretical framework for analyzing a farmers’ decision to engage into corrupt transactions is proposed and validated through econometric analysis. The analysis shows that corruption does not only involve economically and politically powerful farmers, but that it also concerns the lower social segments of rural society.

Watersheds know no political boundaries. Except for the borders of a few countries and a few of the United States, this adage is true. Most watersheds include many state, provincial, and local governments and this “balkanization” is what makes the policy of watershed management so complex. Employing an historical exercise in counterfactualism, “what if” the United States were originally delineated on a watershed basis? “What if” each state was originally delineated by watershed, basin, or hydrologic planning unit? What would we learn as watershed managers from this exercise? This article reviews a selected history of watershed management in the USA as it relates to the many laws, regulations, and river basin commissions that were created to manage water resources that cross political boundaries. There are several lessons that watershed managers can learn from this exercise in counterfactualism. Watersheds form the best hydrological planning units for land, water, and ecosystem management. The concept of the river basin commission is a particularly effective way to manage water resources. Opportunities should be sought in the USA and overseas to create and recreate governments based on watersheds. Prospects should be explored to delineate the boundaries of sub-government jurisdictions such as water, sewer, stormwater, or planning districts based on watersheds.

Water is essential to all life. Human species use water directly for domestic needs, growing food, generating power and for industrial processes. Ensuring sufficient water for people for these purposes is an important ethical question. People also use water indirectly by benefitting from valuable products (e.g. fish), and services (e.g. water regulation) provided by aquatic ecosystems. Additionally, it satisfies the growing belief amongst many people that human species have a moral duty to protect biodiversity, through providing sufficient water to maintain flora and fauna. Many decisions on water allocation are made on economic grounds. However, traditional cost-benefit analysis does not consider other ethical, political, social, historical or ecological issues, which cannot be readily given a monetary value. Wider decision-making frameworks, such as multi-criteria analysis are thus required that incorporate other factors, such as ecological support systems that keep the planet fit for life.

This paper outlines how an area-based water allocation system for irrigating crops could be converted to a system of shares, structured so as to allow the development of a low cost trading market for water and salinity shares. It stresses the need for separation of entitlements of water from land and the separation of water rights into their various components. By moving to this type of allocation system, combined with some safeguard provisions, trade in groundwater could be facilitated in the South East Water Catchment located in the State of South Australia. Separation of salinity and other environmental impacts from water volume trading will allow market assessment of highest and best use to include consideration of environmental impacts. Although the focus of the paper is on groundwater allocation and management, the principles and concepts outlined are applicable to surface water systems.

The objective of this study was to estimate the economic value that people living in Loja, Ecuador, place on the protection of two basins when the protection is designed to improve both the quality and reliability of the water supply for human consumption by urban residents. Empirical results indicate that households have an average willingness to pay (WTP) of $5.80 per month to preserve the basins. The main variables affecting WTP are current monthly water cost, perception about the fairness of the existing water price, the number of hours that service is available, and the gender of the individual interviewed. The results of this study, and the later implementation by the Loja City Municipality of a basin protection project funded through a fee on water users, provide evidence that households at all income levels strongly support and are willing to pay for a project that has the potential to improve the quality of water services and protect the environment.

The Rio Grande (called the Rı́o Bravo in Mexico) is the fifth largest river on the North American continent. The river supports extensive irrigated agriculture as well as rapidly growing cities in three US and five Mexican states. From El Paso, Texas to the Gulf of Mexico, the river marks the international border between Mexico and the United States. Treaties for sharing the water of the Rio Grande between the two countries and arrangements for joint management were concluded in 1906 and 1944. Over time, a complex system of water management institutions has emerged. Water problems are pronounced, due to intensive development in an arid environment. Over the course of the last 40 years, the population in the border communities has doubled every 20 years. Demographic projections predict another doubling of the population by 2030.

The synergistic effects of canals and tanks in groundwater recharge that contribute to an economically sustainable path of groundwater extraction are examined. Thirty farmers each with groundwater wells located in canal command (GWCI), in tank command (GWTI) and in solely well-irrigated areas (devoid of surface water bodies) (GWSI) are studied in Tumkur district of Karnataka. Applying Pontryagin's maximum principle to find the economically sustainable path of groundwater extraction, results indicated that by following the optimal path, the life of groundwater wells will increase by an additional 8, 17 and 24 years, respectively in GWSI, GWTI and GWCI areas over myopic (or uncontrolled) extraction. The additional net present value of benefit realized is US$822, US$1,907 and US$3,636 by optimal extraction in the three well areas. GWCI farmers realized the highest net returns (US$255) per hectare of gross groundwater irrigated area followed by GWTI (US$227.5) and GWSI (US$162.5). In GWTI (GWCI) amortized cost per cubic metre of groundwater was lower by 33% (53%) compared with GWSI, which reflects positive externality owing to the synergistic role of canals and tanks in groundwater recharge.

This paper explores how to design ‘pro-poor’ water and sewer concessions — concessions that actively encourage private utility companies to meet the demand for improved services in low-income areas. The case of Aguas del Illimani in Bolivia is used to illustrate the potential impact of various contract provisions on outcomes for the poor. Komives finds that expansion mandates alone are not enough to guarantee that poor households will receive service. Policy makers can increase the likelihood of improvements in low-income areas by eliminating policy barriers to serving the poor, and designing financial incentives in the concession contract that are consistent with service expansion objectives. Moreover, poor households would benefit from private operators that have sufficient flexibility in operations and product offerings to respond to variations in demand for services across households. Provisions and standards that reduce service options or restrict the emergence of new service providers have the potential to cause more harm than good.

This paper reports the main findings from a multi-country research project designed to develop a better understanding of the performance of community-managed rural water supply systems in developing countries. Data was collected from households, village water committees, focus groups of village residents, system operators, and key informants in 400 rural communities in Peru, Bolivia, and Ghana. Our findings suggest that the demand-driven, community management model, coupled with access to spare parts and some technical expertise, has come a long way toward unravelling the puzzle of how to best design and implement rural water supply programs in developing countries. In all three countries, rural water supply projects were “working”. Among the households included in our sample in Peru and Bolivia, 95 percent had operational taps at the time of our field visit. In 90 percent of the villages in Ghana, all project boreholes were still working. Not only were the rural water systems not broken down, but almost all the households in these communities were using at least some of their water from the systems. However, some households were also still using water from other sources. In Ghana, 38 percent of households still reported using water from unprotected sources (e.g. springs, rivers and open wells) for drinking and/or cooking. Another troublesome finding is that rural households in the sample villages are paying very little for the improved water services, and, as a result, the finances of many village water committees are in poor shape.

This article invites policy makers to reframe some familiar policy debates on water through using history. While violence has and will continue around water, water is far more humanity’s learning ground for building community than it is a cause of war. Increased interdependence through water sharing plans and infrastructure networks can be seen as increases of our flexibility and capacity to respond to exigencies of nature and reduce our vulnerability to events such as droughts and floods and thereby increase security. The history of social organization around river basins and watersheds is humanity’s richest records of our dialogue with nature. It is among the most fertile areas for learning about how the political and technical interact. The spatial and functional characteristics of the river basins influenced human settlement and interaction long before the idea of the river basin started to be formalized into legal and administrative terms. The direction of flow of rivers influenced the movement of civilization. Rivers have been crucial to means of communication leading to the formation of political units. The article concludes with calling for new ethics in water management. It calls for an ethic built on: a sense of purpose and on an active co-designing with nature and not solely on preservation; a balance between humans and technology and among structural and on-structural approaches; and a new balance of the sacred and utilitarian in water.

A description of the past and present water quantity and quality status of Lake Kinneret and its catchment (the Northern Jordan River system) is given as background to understanding the problems of water allocation and supply bedeviling the Middle East Peace Process. It is hoped that the future utilization and allocation of the waters of Lake Kinneret and the Northern Jordan River will be determined by political agreement rather than by armed conflict. In any settlement, the environmental pressures that affect the water quality in this system must also be taken into account. Lake Kinneret, the largest freshwater lake in the Levant, serves as a major source for Israel's national water needs. In addition to Israel, the Kingdom of Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and the Palestinian Authority are stakeholders whose interests in the northern Jordan–Lake Kinneret system will have to be considered in any future regional political settlements. Aspects of water quantity and quality in Lake Kinneret are reviewed with emphasis on recent changes in the latter. The need to include the factor of water quality in future policy considerations is stressed. This requires objective and quantitative measures for `water quality'. An approach to defining an appropriate set of parameters to serve as indices for water quality in Lake Kinneret is described and may serve as a useful guideline for other water bodies. If negotiated, acceptable solutions can be found for the riparian states in the northern Jordan River–Lake Kinneret system, these could form the cornerstone for comprehensive future agreements on water allocation in this region.

Clean water is an important natural resource. In recent times, there has been a radical change in the institutional and regulatory mechanism for providing clean water to the rural communities of Ghana. The object of this paper is to examine the strengths and weaknesses of the two regimes for providing water to rural communities in Ghana. These are the traditional regime and the Community Water and Sanitation Program (CWSP). We shall argue that the strength of the traditional regime is that almost everybody knows the laws and institutions that regulate the use of water. Its major weakness is that water is used in an untreated stage and is not available all year round. The strength of the CWSP is that it treats water as an economic resource and it is managed in a manner that makes it sustainable. Its major weakness is that, for its execution, it depends on a number of state institutions which can be notoriously weak. Very little has also been accomplished on the sanitation aspect of the program.

We examine households’ demand for improved water services in Kathmandu, Nepal, where the government is considering the possibility of involving the private sector in the operation of municipal water supply services. We surveyed a randomly selected sample of 1500 households in the Kathmandu Valley and asked respondents questions in in-person interviews about how they would vote if given the choice between their existing water supply situation and an improved water service provided by a private operator. The results provide the first evidence from South Asia that households’ willingness to pay for improved water services is much higher than their current water bills. We find substantial public support among both poor and nonpoor households for a privatization plan that would improve water supply and require all participants to pay regular and higher monthly bills.

The paper analyses the water scarcity problems in Gujarat in Western India using definitions of water scarcity propounded by Falkenmark, and Raskin and others, and a more universal definition based on supply and demand. While a lion's share of the scarce water goes for irrigating cash crops at the cost of subsistence farming and rural drinking, the pricing of canal water and electricity used for groundwater pumping is highly inefficient and inequitable. To manage demands for water, the paper suggests the use of water market as the institutional arrangement for promoting economically efficient uses, along with rational pricing of canal water and electricity for encouraging conservation. The paper advocates policies that enable: reforms in the governance and management of water for decentralisation and local institutional development; and increased investment in the irrigation and power supply sector for technological innovations and improvements in infrastructure, which are the fountainhead of the demand management strategy.

The article describes a Hungarian project aimed at developing water quality legislation and regulation in which the involvement of a multi-disciplinary, international expert group was successfully combined with the participation of key stakeholders within the framework of a multi-stage process. By applying computer simulation modelling and group decision support methodologies, the project investigated the potential environmental, economic and social impacts of various regulatory approaches in five significantly differing test sites. Based on the results, the introduction of the partial river basin approach (river basin planning without far reaching changes in the current institutional structure) was proposed. The project which was the first attempt in Hungary to involve stakeholders directly in the rulemaking process, was supported by the PHARE program of the European Union1.

A ‘preliminary methodology’ for valuing the environmental and social costs and benefits of water resources schemes has been developed by the Environment Agency in England and Wales. This is necessary to meet the requirement to take environmental and social costs and benefits into account in water resources planning. The background, development and application of the preliminary methodology are discussed. In order to inform the further development of the preliminary methodology, a survey of the water companies tasked with using it has been carried out. It is concluded that development and application of the preliminary methodology is a qualified success. However, it is not possible to ascertain if application of the methodology has resulted in the optimal balance of water resources development and environmental protection. The paucity of data for benefit transfer is the current major obstacle to refinement of the methodology, and more site-specific studies can provide much data to refine it.

The international regime for the River Rhine is widely considered to be unique. In this article, the author draws some lessons from the regime's development. These are related to two distinct strands in the literature. The first can be summarized under the heading of regime theory. It comprises studies dealing with the development of international regimes concerning water quality. These studies view the evolution of any such regime as determined by features of the issues in the light of relevant societal values and the role of transnational interest groups, scientific analysis and progress and the potential for interstate interaction. The second strand comprises aspects of negotiation theory. Its relevance suggests that there are options for trade-offs and that those options can have a positive impact. In addition, this literature helps to identify tactics that may be available to the negotiating parties.Most of these factors have had a positive impact. On the basis of an analysis of the historical development of the Rhine regime, this study elaborates upon three conditions that have had a positive impact on the development of the regime: the presence of an alert, creative and convincing party downstream; the existence of good international relations throughout the catchment area; and the presence of an international river commission, which could generate and disseminate information as well as facilitate negotiations among the riparian states.

Many watershed development projects around the world have performed poorly because they failed to take into account the needs, constraints, and practices of local people. Participatory watershed management—in which users help to define problems, set priorities, select technologies and policies, and monitor and evaluate impacts—is expected to improve performance. User participation in watershed management raises new questions for watershed research, including how to design appropriate mechanisms for organizing stakeholders and facilitating collective action. Management of a complex system such as a watershed may also require user participation in the research process itself.

The development of the Finnish industrial waste-water policy is examined in the context of the national industrial development and the rise of the environmental movement. It is stated that up until the beginning of the eighties, a broad consensus about the principles of the waste-water policy prevailed among decision makers and authorities. It was a consensus uniform with the interests of the forest industry, the most powerful part of the national economy. Unfortunately, the forest industry was a bad source of pollution of the inland waters since the fifties. However, the long lasted hegemonic consensus started to break down in the late seventies and early eighties by an awakening of environmental protest. The wave of environmental protest took water issues as its main target. A major conflict concerning waste-water issues broke out in the Lake Region of the country, demanding an effective cleansing of the waste-waters of a major forest company in the area. This single-issue movement proved to be a success and, under favourable social conditions, the conflict had a broader effect on the introduction of a more regulative industrial waste-water policy by the authorities. In effect, rapid progress occurred in the cleansing of waste-waters, and the national forest industry is largely freed of its earlier questionable position as one of the worst sources of pollution of inland waters.

The National Water Commission (CNA) is the federal agency in charge of the administration and custody of water resources. The Mexican water industry including provision of drinking water, sewerage, sewage treatment and disposal, environmental functions, and community services like flood protection and dams security, is not a monolithic one, however since 1989, the national policy in this area has been to reduce, as much as possible, the number of public offices involved in water resources decision-making processes. The creation of the CNA must be envisaged within this objective, i.e., within the final purpose of having a unique authority dealing with all problems stemming from the water provision, distribution, use and management. This reform was intended to augment the CNA capabilities to face its challenges. Such challenges are huge and from different nature, and the following article is written to present a general view of the main strategies designed by the CNA to modernize the water industry, under three basic areas: (1) use of water resources and infrastructure, (2) efficient management of water resources and (3) modernization of the water industry organizational structure.