nmsu’s water policy analysis research capabilities
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NMSU’s Water Policy Analysis Research Capabilities. Frank A. Ward, Professor NMSU College of Agriculture, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences Guests: Comisión Estatal de Aguas del Estado de Querétaro September 27, 2010. Water Policy Challenges. Global - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
NMSU’s Water Policy Analysis Research Capabilities
• Frank A. Ward, Professor• NMSU College of Agriculture, Consumer, and
Environmental Sciences• Guests: Comisión Estatal de Aguas del Estado
de Querétaro • September 27, 2010
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Water Policy Challenges
• Global – Water conservation to promote food security for
growing population– Eliminating water poverty
• Drinking water • Sanitation
– Peaceful sharing of transboundary waters– Finding flexible institutions to allocate water with
• Drought• Climate change
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Water Policy Challenges
• New Mexico, USA– Low cost safe water supply for rural areas.– Meet delivery requirements to TX and MX– Maximize economic benefits produced by very
scarce water (about 1 MAF/year in RG Basin)– Affordable water conservation– Efficient transfers from farms to cities– Water rights adjudication
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Water Policy Challenges• Queretaro, MX
– Sustainability of groundwater pumping– Pricing water for justice and sustainability– Low cost measures for safe and reliable supplies in
rural areas. (e.g., solar pumps)– Sustainable surface water use
• Panuco Basin• Lerma-Santiago
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Informing policy with science• Integrated River Basin Analysis (IRBA)
– Hydrology– Agronomy– Economics– Institutions and Policies
• River Basins in Queretaro– east-bound Panuco Basin, drains to Gulf– west-bound Lerma-Santiago, drains to Pacific.
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Hypothetical BasinWatershed runoff
Reservoir
Irrigated crops
Flooding
Urban water supply
Groundwater
Fish and wildlife
Treaty obligation
Hydropower
Compact Obligation
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Rio Grande Basin
Basin Schematic Uses• Engages stakeholders• Promote stakeholder consensus• Promote stakeholder debate• Summarizes sources, uses, and values• Tool for policy analysis• Tool for policy experiments
– Hydrologic– Economic– Agronomic– Institutions (compatibility, needed adjustments)
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Rio Grande de Santiago, Mexico
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Informing policy with science• Data
– Supplies (headwater flows)• Past patterns• Future patterns (climate change)
– Demands• Past (cities, agriculture)• Future (growing cities, changing agriculture)
– Technology• Past (old)• Future (new)
– Population, Demographics (past, future)– Economic Value of water in alternative uses
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Informing policy with science• Policy choices (institutions)
– Promoting conservation • Agriculture • Urban use
– Adjudicating water rights– Establishing Water markets– Pricing
• Social justice• Revenue sustainability• Economic efficiency
– Regulating groundwater pumping 11
Informing policy with science• Policy choices (infrastructure)
– Pipes into homes– Small scale water filtration – Facilities (e.g., treatment, recycling, reuse)– Private groundwater development– Supply solar panels for pumping– low flow showerheads– Build, expand reservoirs– Rehab ditches– Radio telemetry
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Recent Research findings(NMSU)
• Rio Grande Basin, US-MX – Subsidizing drip irrigation can increase water use– Two-tiered pricing can conserve water while
promoting social justice• Nile Basin, Egypt
– Water trading can increase income by 5-7%• Balkh Basin, Afghanistan
– Investing in better water shortage sharing institutions: raise farm income and food security
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Toshka Project, Egypt
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Afghan Irrigation
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Planned Research (NMSU) • Rio Grande Basin, US-MX
– What does it cost to use water sustainably?– What are the benefits of water rights adjudication?– Groundwater storage / recovery
• Nile Basin, Egypt– Least cost ways to accommodate Egypt’s growing
populations• Euphrates (Turkey, Syria, Iraq)
– How to promote development in Iraq with falling supplies (drought, dams, climate change)
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More Water Use Benefits, Iraq
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Comments?
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