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Water, Water Nowhere? What to do about the looming global water crisis
Reason Online ^ | 11/13/02 | Ronald Bailey

Posted on 11/12/2002 6:47:28 PM PST by Mensch

One thousand Arkansas rice farmers have just about pumped away all their ground water. Naturally, they are looking to taxpayers for relief.

Specifically, they are clamoring for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the federal agency responsible for America's waterways, to spend $200 million on a new system of reservoirs, canals, and pumping stations to divert water to their farms from the nearby White River. The state is supposed to toss in an additional $119 million, for a total taxpayer gift of $300,000 per farmer. This is on top of the considerable crop subsidies the farmers already receive: They sell their rice for $3.10 per bushel even though the market price is only $1.40.

Approving the White River project would only compound more than a century of bad federal water policy. Resource economist Delworth Gardiner, a professor emeritus at the Brigham Young University, has calculated that the total cost to society of a typical federal irrigation project is $400 per acre-foot of water (an acre-foot is the amount of water it takes to cover one acre to a depth of one foot). The market value of the water ranges from $50 to $100 per acre-foot, but farmers usually pay the Bureau of Reclamation about $20 to $30. If such irrigation projects were evaluated on a true cost-benefit basis, says Gardiner, "there would be no new federal water projects at all."

The Arkansas rice farmers' situation is a microcosm of a problem affecting much of the world. A new report from the International Food Policy Research Institute, "World Water and Food to 2025," addresses the global freshwater crisis. "Unless we change policies and priorities, in twenty years, there won't be enough water for cities, households, the environment, or growing food," Mark Rosegrant, lead author of the report and a senior research fellow at the IFPRI, warned in a press release. "Water is not like oil. There is no substitute. If we continue to take it for granted, much of the earth is going to run short of water or food—or both."

Experts estimate that more than 41,000 cubic kilometers (km3) of renewable water are available annually. That's about three times the size of Lake Superior. But that water is not distributed equally. For example, Brazil and Canada together account for 25 percent of the world's renewable freshwater. Farmers are by far the largest users of the world's freshwater. The problem is that critical farming regions such as northeast China and northwest India are running out of freshwater to grow food.

In the IFPRI report's business-as-usual scenario, total water withdrawals will increase by 22 percent, from 3,906 km3 of water to 4,772 km3 by 2025. With appropriate policy changes, however, total withdrawals would increase only to 4,042 km3, which would leave more water available for environmental purposes.

To avert the crisis, water has to be properly priced, but such an approach would encounter strong resistance. Both Gardiner and the IFPRI report point out that once subsidized water projects are built, the value of the water allocated to farmers, even if it's not a formally recognized property right, is incorporated into the value of their farms. After the land is sold, the people for whom the subsidized infrastructure was built are no longer the beneficiaries. The new owners have paid premium prices for irrigated land, not land that could revert to desert at the whim of a federal administrator. One could argue that a farmer who lives by the subsidy should die from its withdrawal. Whatever the merits of that view, implementing it is not politically feasible.

So what to do? "Key to inducing higher water efficiency gains in all sectors is introducing market (or market-style) incentives into water use decisionmaking," argues the IFPRI report. "Incentive prices for water could have a major impact on water withdrawals and consumptive use in irrigation and urban water uses, thus freeing water for environmental use."

One ingenious end run around the political problems posed by subsidized water allocation is a "charge-subsidy" scheme that would involve allotting a base property right to a certain amount of water, taking into account its historical use, to individual farmers or groups of farmers. If they used more than their base amount, they would pay market prices for the additional water. If they used less, they could sell the water they saved at market prices to other users, such as cities and industries. This arrangement would strongly encourage water use efficiency and establish water markets between farmers, urban dwellers, and industrial users.

In the case of federal water projects, farmers would receive their initial allocation of water at, say, $20 per acre-foot. If they needed more, they'd pay $100 per acre-foot. If they saved water, they could sell it to city dwellers for $100 per acre-foot. In fact, it might be more profitable for some farmers to stop farming and sell all their water to other users. Such a system would not be perfect, but it would be better than the mess we find ourselves in now.

Water markets face opposition from some "progressives." The current issue of Mother Jones, for example, features a package of articles attacking the privatization of water resources. The articles focus mostly on city water systems, but one article asks, "Should water, a basic necessity for human survival, be controlled by private interests?" In another article, Indian ecofeminist Vandana Shiva complains, "There's a global water crisis, and at the same time water is being increasingly commodified."

Fortunately, some environmental groups, such as the World Wildlife Federation, are coming to see the importance of markets for conserving water and protecting ecosystems "Only water markets can create the incentives to reduce waste and send water to its most productive and necessary uses," writes Capital Research Center economist David Riggs. "By treating water as a tradable commodity, by including water in market processes, people across the world and the natural environment will be better served."

Which brings us back to the Arkansas rice farmers. "Why should we subsidize a pump that will sell subsidized water to grow a subsidized crop?" a local opponent of the White River project asked The New York Times. That's exactly the right question. We should not go down the dead-end road we've already traveled with so many other federal water projects.

Central Arkansas typically receives 50 inches of rain annually. That's more than enough to raise many other crops, such as corn, wheat, and cotton. It's not as though these farmers have a heaven-mandated right to grow rice. If they can't make a profit, they should be allowed to go bankrupt like any other small business.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Extended News; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: enviralists
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To: farmfriend
Not now, other than to say that before you can find a way to charge a lot of money for stolen assets, you have to create a shortage so that you can sell the solutions. This kind of hype is the groundwork.
21 posted on 11/12/2002 8:42:06 PM PST by Carry_Okie
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To: xrp
I wonder what the Saudis would drink if we stopped maintaining their humongous desal plants for a year?
22 posted on 11/12/2002 8:42:58 PM PST by Travis McGee
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To: Old Professer
Must we suffer fools all our lives?

Prof, you already know the answer to that one.

23 posted on 11/12/2002 8:44:09 PM PST by Travis McGee
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To: Mensch
Here in Washington State, I've seen bumper stickers that read "Save The Groundwater". Have seen that about 3-4 times.

I'd like a simple bumper sticker that said "Save Yourself".

24 posted on 11/12/2002 8:46:27 PM PST by Professional
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To: Old Professer
Anyone foolish enough to read into this that the planet is suffering a depletion of available water need rescind his graduation certificate from the 1st grade.

I'm with you there perfesser. Whom do you think is "foolish enough to read into this that the planet is suffering a depletion of available water" from this article?

25 posted on 11/12/2002 8:47:15 PM PST by Mensch
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To: boris
I'm with you Boris... we need more energy, and nuclear is our best option. It sure beats people dying from black lung disease, or from floods, etc.

But I also think we need to stop subsidising water to farmers, or to anyone. The big transfer of tax payer wealth for the benefit of a few farmers is wrong... particularly when they are subsidized in other ways also.

26 posted on 11/12/2002 8:51:44 PM PST by Hop A Long Cassidy
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To: Brian Allen
It's a water distribution problem.

Certain politicians want to buy votes with water.

THERE IS NO SHORTAGE OF FRESH WATER ON THIS PLANET!

27 posted on 11/12/2002 8:57:13 PM PST by mfulstone
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To: Binghamton_native
The problem hinges on where the fresh water is available. According to his figures, accessible rainfall comes to 5700 litres per person per day, about four times the US per person usage. He breaks it down to three problems:
Unequal distribution, rising population, and shared resources. Deslination is great, unless you're landlocked with hostile or even just uncooperative neighbors.
28 posted on 11/12/2002 8:59:42 PM PST by m1911
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To: Professional
Try this... http://www.makestickers.com/
29 posted on 11/12/2002 9:00:13 PM PST by Mensch
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To: Mensch
Spent nuclear fuel rods still have a lot of heat, use them to de-salinate sea water.

That should make plenty of fresh water, just pump it in from the coast, if we can do it with natural gas, we can do it with water, eh?

If it is pressurized as steam for a few miles, it should have it's own head, so, tanks to store it should be easy to fill, fuel rods every mile or so, encased, heat the water to steam, steam flow to tanks, condensate to fill tank, easy as pie.

Oh, I forgot, nuclear fuel is dangerous...or so they say!

30 posted on 11/12/2002 9:20:49 PM PST by RaceBannon
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To: Old Professer
There is no shortage of energy either; most of it is wasted bitching about imagined catastrophes.

LOL

31 posted on 11/12/2002 9:59:47 PM PST by calenel
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To: Mensch
"Key to inducing higher water efficiency gains in all sectors is introducing market (or market-style) incentives into water use decisionmaking," argues the IFPRI report. "Incentive prices for water could have a major impact on water withdrawals and consumptive use in irrigation and urban water uses, thus freeing water for environmental use."

Didn't we try this with Mexico and now Mexico has a water deficit to American farmers?
32 posted on 11/12/2002 10:02:06 PM PST by calenel
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To: Mensch
So does this mean "Ice Pirates" was prescient? I just thought it was a good comedy.
33 posted on 11/13/2002 6:11:01 AM PST by Democratic_Machiavelli
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To: Mensch
So, what this is saying is that we have plenty of water, it's just that humans are misusing it, either through greed or incompetence?

Sounds like the "food shortage" everyone keeps mentioning.

Socialism isn't dying. It's just got a new name.

34 posted on 11/13/2002 6:14:43 AM PST by Democratic_Machiavelli
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To: Democratic_Machiavelli
Fresh water isn't distributed equally on the planet, or in proportion to population. Who controls it and how is already a huge problem in the (mostly) peaceful American west. The government is already stepping in to pick winners, i.e. the rice farmers, the article is proposing a different, market based way of dividing a resource.
35 posted on 11/13/2002 6:21:18 AM PST by m1911
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To: m1911
I was getting that impression. I have relatives who farm out in the western US. They do it as a hobby now because there's really no profit in it unless you're part of agribusiness. Part of the way they made money during an off-year was to sell their water rights. Don't remember if they sold them to the government, or to other farmers.

Beyond the idea of water markets, I don't see anything new in this article. Thanks for the summary though. I have a cold today and can't think too clearly.

36 posted on 11/13/2002 6:31:49 AM PST by Democratic_Machiavelli
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To: HetLoo
"Ban sealed caskets. Human being are 80% water, but when they die that's all trapped in sealed caskets instead of being reabsorbed by the earth like it ought to be."

We can use one of those "water recovery" gizmos like on Dune.

"Joe carried 7 liters and 10 drams of the tribe's water..."

(I don't recall the exact line from the movie.)

The big problem, as I see it, would be recovering water from Warren Christopher. He seems 100% dessicated already.

--Boris

37 posted on 11/13/2002 6:53:53 AM PST by boris
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To: Democratic_Machiavelli
You're kidding, right?
38 posted on 11/13/2002 8:24:15 PM PST by Mensch
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To: Mensch
Which part? Socialism? Food shortage? Greed and corruption?
39 posted on 11/14/2002 2:24:15 PM PST by Democratic_Machiavelli
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To: Young Werther
Dune anyone?

I was thinking the same thing. I just finished the Butlerian Jihad. Best one yet from Kevin Anderson and Brian Herbert. Still not the origional.
40 posted on 11/14/2002 2:30:47 PM PST by CollegeRepublican
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