Agricultural and Resource Economics Commons^™

Economic Issues Of Groundwater Management, B. Gardner Delworth

Faculty Publications

This is a coaceptual rather than an empirical paper with the primary focus on raising a set of economic issues faced by any authority charged with managing a groundwater aquifer. I will utilize the technique of making simplifying, albeit unrealistic, assumptions in order to establish easily and clearly the relevant economic principles. Some of the assumptions will be relaxed later to achieve greater realism. It is assumed that the hydrologic dimensions of the groundwater system are known and that the management authority has the power to enforce whatever rules it deems appropriate. There are a host of problems associated with …