Engineering Commons^™

Predicting Groundwater Trading Participation In The Upper Republican River Natural Resource District, Elizabeth M. Juchems

Department of Agricultural Economics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The goal of this thesis is to predict participation in groundwater trading and the directions of trades among participants. Specifically, the paper considers both formal and informal trading of groundwater used for crop irrigation purposes and attempts to identify those characteristics that predict the probability of trade participation and whether an individual is a buyer or seller of groundwater rights. While the public benefits from efficient use of groundwater include adequate stream flow in hydrologically connected areas and future use of groundwater supplies, there are significant private benefits to landowners especially in water-short areas. Groundwater trading can help move water …