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A Model for Managing Reservoir Water Releases
Author(s) -
Biere Arlo W.,
Lee Ivan M.
Publication year - 1972
Publication title -
american journal of agricultural economics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.949
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1467-8276
pISSN - 0002-9092
DOI - 10.2307/1239157
Subject(s) - groundwater recharge , aquifer , groundwater , environmental science , water resource management , hydrology (agriculture) , geology , geotechnical engineering
Two surface reservoirs in California's Salinas Basin are used to increase recharge of valley aquifers. Under the assumptions of zero price elasticity of demand for groundwater, unregulated groundwater withdrawals, and the objective of economic efficiency, the management criterion is to maximize the present value of expected aquifer recharge where the value of a unit of recharge is the associated reduction in pumping costs. A cyclical Markov dynamic programming management model is developed; optimal strategies are obtained. Results indicate the optimal strategy is relatively stable within the realistic range of alternative groundwater demand growth rates. The marginal value function for reservoir capacity is obtained by parametric analysis.