Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Institutional Adaptation To Water Scarcity In Utah Irrigation Companies, Grant Patty

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A review of how water institutions in the American West have changed in response to arid conditions as a means of examining the possibility of further change as an adaptation to climate change induced water scarcity. Two institutions are examined, prior appropriation and shares.

While much of the American West operates under prior appropriation formally, irrigators have found Coasian methods of lowering transaction costs by forming irrigation companies. Irrigation companies own appropriative rights and redefine them, typically as shares. Lower transaction costs allow irrigators to trade more freely within companies, though trades between companies still face high transaction costs.

Using …

An Historical Overview Of The Evolutions Of Institutions Dealing With Water Resource Use And Water Resource Development In Utah 1847 Through 1947, John Swenson Harvey

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis studies the development of social and legal institutions that have controlled the pattern of water development in Utah from 1847 to 1947. The thesis is divided into three parts to facilitate the study of the diverse influences on water development. The first part deals with the mormon church and pioneer influences and private development during the late 1800s. The second begins with statehood and records the changes in the state's institutions up to 1947. The third part is a summary of the entire process. It relates pioneer, private, and state influences to each other and the current (1989) …

Energy Analysis Of Flat Water Recreation: An Economic Assessment, Craig Leon Howell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Energy analysts believe that traditional economics and energy markets undervalue the only absolutely limited resource, energy. They have produced methods to supplement or supercede economics.

However, theoretical underpinnings of these methods include an energy theory of value which is shown to be too narrow to support workable economic models or numeraires. Sample rankings of recreational values on four Utah reservoirs, using energy analysis and economic methods, show that the two methods yield opposite rankings.

Economic Impacts Of Water Conservation Measures In Agriculture And Energy Within The Upper Colorado River Basin, Douglas R. Franklin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The demand for water is increasing in the western United States. Coupled with growing emphasis on development of the western resources, the limited supply of water will create an expanding competitive market for water by agricultural, energy, industrial and municipal users.

The Upper Colorado River Basin is faced with a question of what water conservation measures in the agricultural and energy sectors can be instigated without reducing agricultural output. If the decision is made to adopt water conservation technology measures, this study addresses the impacts in the private and public investment sectors under alternative public policies, i.e., regulation or non-regulation …

The Effects Of Stochastic Water Availability On Water Allocations In Utah, Gustavo A. Martinez Gerstl

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A methodology to estimate stochastic surface water flows was developed and applied to a case study area using chance constrained programming model. The results were analyzed as to the effects on different areas of production in Utah.

The Impact Of The Prototype Oil Shale Development On Agricultural And Municipal Water Supplies In The Uintah Basin, Roger Orson Tew

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In this paper the institutional factors affecting water distribution in the Upper Colorado River Basin in general and the Uintah Basin are presented. The historical development of the appropriation doctrine of water allocation is outlined and Utah water policy is examined. These institutional factors are analyzed in light of the prototype oil shale development in the Uintah Basin and potential impact on the area's agricultural sector. Oil shale water estimates are compared with Uintah Basin water availability and examined with regard to population projections and municipal water use. Lastly, Utah water policy and the appropriation doctrine are viewed as restraints …

Optimal Allocation Of Irrigation Water: The Sevier River Basin, Harold H. Hiskey

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Economic efficiency criteria are used to optimally allocate irrigation water in a closed river basin (Sevier River). The Basin is geographically divided into four subbasins. Linear programming model were developed for each of the four areas and used to generate value of marginal product schedules by parametric variation of water during the late irrigation season (after July 1). Differences in value of marginal product for average annual water deliveries were indications of a malallocation of late season water. A reallocation involving 28 percent of the restraining input (water) would increase net farm incomes (returns to capital, labor, and management) an …