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Trade‐offs between cost minimization and equity in water quality management for agricultural watersheds
Author(s) -
Khadam Ibrahim M.,
Kaluarachchi Jagath J.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
water resources research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.863
H-Index - 217
eISSN - 1944-7973
pISSN - 0043-1397
DOI - 10.1029/2005wr004434
Subject(s) - equity (law) , pollution , drainage basin , water quality , agriculture , environmental science , minification , environmental economics , economics , natural resource economics , water resource management , mathematics , geography , mathematical optimization , ecology , archaeology , political science , law , biology , cartography
Allocation of pollution control responsibilities is an important problem in environmental economics. Previous research has developed the least‐cost formulation that addresses both cost efficiency and hydrologic uncertainty. However, the least‐cost formulation does not explicitly consider the distribution of pollution control responsibilities that has a serious implication on equity. A theoretical framework for evaluating the trade‐offs between cost efficiency and equity is developed in this work. In this paper the efficiency equity curve that defines the cost of achieving equity is developed. It also evaluates the impacts of hydrologic variability and parameter uncertainty on the trade‐off between cost efficiency and equity, and the impacts of the choice of equity criteria on phosphorus management decisions. A demonstration example is also presented that analyzed phosphorus management in the Fishtrap Creek catchment and the lower Nooksack River basin located in northwestern Washington State.