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Water Quatity Management and Irrigated Agriculture: Potential Conflicts in the Colorado River Basin
Author(s) -
Keith John E.
Publication year - 1977
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 - 10.2307/1239869
Subject(s) - irrigated agriculture , session (web analytics) , citation , agriculture , state (computer science) , agricultural experiment station , drainage basin , hydrology (agriculture) , agricultural economics , library science , management , archaeology , geography , economics , business , computer science , engineering , cartography , advertising , geotechnical engineering , algorithm
If effluent standards set by the 1922 Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendment are applied to irrigated farmlands, the impact of enforcement will create problems that could cause more social harm than benefit. Elimination of all external discharge, for example, will not be consistent with a social optimum based on trade-offs between water quality and a climate of table prices and productivity. The structure of American agriculture may be changed if small farms are forced to consolidate in order to meet the costs of effluent standards. Application of the law (PL 92-500) to the Colorado River Basin is examined for the effect on water allocations and salinity. Since it will not be feasible to enforce the law by requiring each farm to be monitored, farmers could elect to by-pass point sources and resort to ponding or seepage, which would lower water quality. 14 references.