Economics of water conservation in irrigated landscapes

The purpose of this research effort is to improve understanding of two key drivers of water use in irrigated landscapes: 1) irrigation technology adoption and 2) irrigation district hierarchies. The methodology used to address the first driver focuses on integrating economic models of optimal investment with hydrologic models of annual streamflow. Specifically, this approach quantifies how streamflow trends and streamflow variability influence the adoption of more efficient irrigation technologies in three watershed in Cache Valley. This improved understanding of the influence of streamflow trends and variability can be used to predict how one specific form of climate adaptation (uptake of water-saving irrigation technologies) will evolve in response to climate trends and variability. The methodology used to address the second driver is an agent-based model of the behaviors of canal district managers and owners. This methodology allows us to specify both economic and non-economic behaviors employed by three agent types (canal manager, residential water users, agricultural water users) in a specific canal in Cache Valley. The model accounts for realistic hydrologic aspects of the canal, the hierarchical relationship between canal managers and water users, as well as the variety of water use objectives held by owners of the canal company. This research provides an initial glimpse of the relative importance of institutions, social norms, and economics in water use decisions. These research efforts help solidify the links between RFA2 and RFA3.