The Management of Water Quality and Irrigation Technologies

Jose Albiac, Ariel Dinar

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN: 9780415849395
• eBook ISBN: 9781136553219
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Ecology
• Index: Technology & Engineering

This book is an outcome from the International Expo 'Water and Sustainable Development' held in Zaragoza (Spain) in 2008. Support from the Spanish Ministry of Environment, Caja Rioja, Government of Aragon, and the World Bank is acknowledged.

'Few resources will play a more important role in shaping our economic future, or face more daunting challenges, than water. This internationally acclaimed team of experts has produced a first-rate volume that is full of intriguing, practical ideas for meeting those challenges in a rich variety of institutional settings.'
Tom Tietenberg, Mitchell Family Professor of Economics, Emeritus, Colby College, USA

'This volume brings together two critical but interrelated dimensions of water challenge, i.e. water pollution, particularly from non-point sources, and water conservation. The editors are well known experts on the subject as are the contributors.'
R. Maria Saleth, International Water Management Institute, Sri Lanka and Associate Editor, Water Policy

'The profound contribution of this volume is that it brings together various economic concepts and policy dilemmas regarding water shortages, non-point source pollution, efficiency of water use and irrigation technology. Recommended reading for anyone working in the area of water management.'
Henk Folmer, University of Groningen and Wageningen University, The Netherlands

As countries face deteriorating water and environmental quality as well as water shortages, pollution control and the efficiency of water use become of paramount importance. Agriculture is one of the main non-point polluters of water bodies and irrigation for agriculture is one of the main consumers of water. While it is very hard to regulate pollution from agriculture, attempts have been made via economic and command and control instruments, and also through investments in technologies and ecosystems recovery. Coping with non-point pollution takes the form of both policy intervention and technology development.

Likewise it is recognized that irrigation efficiency varies across countries, influenced by both technology and supporting adoption policies. Countries that lead in irrigation technology and supporting policies have certain traits in common. They face very high scarcity and are pushed to find innovative solutions, both technical and policy related. The recent multibillion investments in irrigation technologies in Spain, and similar proposals in Australia, for example, highlight the potential of irrigation technologies to cope with scarcity and water quality degradation. This book reviews all of the above issues, presents experiences in selected countries, and assesses the degree of success of alternative policies for coping with non-point water pollution and improving irrigation efficiency.

1

Introduction

Jose Albiac and Ariel Dinar

This book is an outcome of the conference ‘Water: Economics, Policy, Politics and Agricultural Celebration’ held in Zaragoza (Spain) at the beginning of the International Expo ZH2O ‘Water and Sustainable Development’ in 2008.¹ Two important questions examined in the conference were non-point pollution and irrigation technologies for water conservation. The book describes experiences from several countries that highlight both achievements and failures in dealing with pollution and irrigation issues. These topics are presented here taking into account the institutional, policy and technological circumstances in different countries and regions.

All over the world, the pressure on water resources is mounting because of the ever-increasing growth in population and economic activities.² As a result, the environmental sustainability of aquatic ecosystems in most regions around the world seems to be more and more difficult to achieve. One optimistic approach to addressing the problem is to design public policies and market institutions that will spur new technologies able to augment income and wealth, and reduce human impacts on water resources. Another more sombre approach is to limit or reduce water extractions and pollution loads as part of adopting more austere lifestyles necessary for ecosystem conservation. The key issue is whether knowledge, policies and technological advances will be able to avoid ecological disaster, without the adoption of the Malthusian approach based on curbing income and population.

Water is mostly an impure public good or common pool resource, characterized by non-exclusion (no exclusive access) and rivalry in consumption (consumption reduces the available quantity); whereas a private good is characterized by exclusion and rivalry in consumption.³ Typical examples of common pool resources are irrigation, fish stocks and forests.

The Dublin Declaration of 1992 indicates in its fourth point that water should be considered an economic good, in order not only to improve water use efficiency and equity, but also to attain conservation and protection. This is the approach taken by many countries, and in particular by the European Union in its Water Framework Directive, which promotes water pricing as the solution for water use efficiency, conservation and protection.

The problem with this approach is that the price mechanism can work only where water is a private good traded in markets. An additional problem is that markets face difficulties when dealing with environmental externalities, and cannot guarantee water resource conservation and protection. Urban and industrial uses have the characteristics of using water as a private good, but irrigation is different because it has the characteristics of using water as an impure public good and also has environmental externalities. An aquifer is a good example of a common pool resource, with rivalry in consumption but non-exclusion,⁴ and environmental externalities from overdraft or degradation of its quality.

Water pricing could modify water consumption where markets exist, such as for connected urban and industrial uses, but not for agricultural or environmental uses. The cases of California and Australia (Chapter 6) seem to demonstrate that water markets are unable to internalize the environmental externalities.

The protection and conservation of water resources that are common pool resources requires cooperation by agents and collective action. To understand the problem of common pool resources and collective action, the example of pollution is a case in point. Pollution abatement can be undertaken by agents without cooperating with other agents, but this leads to an insufficient level of abatement. When there is cooperation among agents, abatement increases up to the level which is optimum for society satisfying the condition of efficient provision of public goods.

The sustainable management of water resources requires the availability of accurate information on the economic value of the services provided by the water resources and their associated ecosystems. The values of these environmental services are needed in order to find out the optimal level in the objectives of water policies, or the thresholds for cost-efficient measures when optimal levels are unknown and reasonable thresholds are sought. Information on economic valuation of environmental services is quite scarce in international literature, although the global value of these services seems quite high (Freeman, 1979, 1990; Loomis, 1997).

The purpose of this book is to show the water resource situation in some of the countries that have significant water scarcity and water quality degradation problems. The different policy measures undertaken by these countries are examined in the following chapters, taking into account the institutional settings and the requirements and availability of information and biophysical knowledge. Then the outcomes from pollution and irrigation policies are evaluated, and the general finding across countries is that both water quality and water scarcity policy goals are quite difficult to achieve with current policies. These difficulties seem to call for a revamp of the policy mix and the institutional setting in order to move towards a sustainable use of water resources.

The book is structured in two parts: Part I presents chapters on pollution and water quality in China, the US, the European Union, Spain and Australia, and Part II presents chapters on irrigation technologies in Jordan, California, Spain and Australia.

Part I Non-point source pollution regulation approaches

Good water quality is an essential condition for having living rivers with healthy aquatic ecosystems. At present, the pressure on water resources is growing rapidly both in terms of expanding water extractions and quality degradation from pollution loads. Water quality degradation is pervasive in most watercourses around the world, driven by the escalating pollution loads from anthropogenic point and non-point sources.

In high-income countries, there have been large investments in sewage networks and water treatment facilities during recent decades to control point pollution, which have stabilized or in some cases reduced the concentration of pollutants in rivers. Non-point pollution is much more difficult to tackle, because control measures are very difficult to design, implement and enforce. As a consequence of the abatement of point pollution, the relative importance of non-point pollution loads is increasing in high-income countries. In medium-and low-income countries, rivers and aquatic ecosystems are being degraded by the surge in point pollution loads from urban and industrial sources, and large tracts of watercourses have become unsuitable for many water uses.

Part I starts with the chapter by Ongley and Tao on the problems of assessing non-point pollution in China, and the influence of miscalculation on policies and regulations. Non-point pollution has become a critical policy issue in China in recent years, despite being a new field of study in China. The chapter starts by reviewing the five estimation methods of non-point pollution frequently used in China. One immediate conclusion is that there is a problem of overestimation of pollution loads when using these methods. This problem derives from the biophysical differences between China and the US, where these methods were first developed.

The key message from Ongley and Tao is that research results are influencing pollution control policies to an improper level. Research on non-point pollution started in the 1980s in China, but there has never been a systematic appraisal of non-point pollution impacts. Models of non-point pollution in the US are empirically based on large amounts of real data, but the application of these techniques in China is hampered by the lack of the empirical databases necessary for calibration. In China, where point sources are not controlled, the range of non-point pollution estimates are too wide, especially for large basins. The question is important because non-point source estimates are starting to influence public policy, and the design of measures for pollution control. In some important wetlands and lakes, the control of eutrophication may require control of non-point sources. However, the best approach to pollution reduction should remain focused on point sources. In addition, the gap between policy and legislation, and enforcement has to be reduced, which is a common problem in most countries.

The chapter by Linker et al describes how the eutrophication problem in Chesapeake Bay has been addressed by a partnership of state and federal governments. The learning process of the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) has been supported by modelling, monitoring and research, which are the three key elements of the programme. The CBP modelling effort was a response to the questions put forward by decision makers, namely:

1 What are the levels of nutrients and sediments from the watershed and airshed needed to reach desired water quality standards?

2 What is the magnitude of point and non-point pollution loads?

3 What are the reductions of pollution to be made and their breakdown by media (water, air, land) and state, that are cost efficient and equitable?

Six states and the federal government agreed to pollution reductions with cap loads by tributary and jurisdiction. These cap loads drive the measures taken by each state to reduce pollution and meet the thresholds. Monitoring data underlie all integrated models, and model outcomes match the observed data. Monitoring programmes require support from modelling to explain observations. The CBP integrated models will be used to examine the measures needed to attain the water quality standards desired by 2020 and 2030, and these decisions will influence plans at federal, state and local levels in the coming years. The CBP voluntary approach is working since pollution loads have been reduced; however, a more regulatory approach could be necessary for further reductions.

In Chapter 4, Albiac et al present the water resources management situation in Spain and Europe, where water scarcity and quality degradation are important issues. Water quality degradation remains high in many river basins in both Spain and Europe, despite a comprehensive body of regulations and substantial investments in wastewater treatment plants. In Spain, some policies such as the National Irrigation Plan and the Water Quality Plan have the potential to address scarcity and quality degradation, but other water policies seem misguided.

Both the Spanish government and the European Commission advocate water pricing in irrigation, and the use of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for cross-compliance, which seem to be flawed policy options.⁵ The investments in advanced irrigation technologies undertaken by the Spanish government are much more promising than the European Water Framework Directive approach based on water pricing and pollution limits.

The regulation approaches to non-point source pollution in the US are described in Chapter 5 by Ribaudo. In the US, agriculture is the leading source of water quality impairment in rivers and lakes, and a major source in estuaries. Different incentives have been implemented at federal and state levels to reduce non-point pollution loads from farms, and the usual approach taken in the US is through voluntary mechanisms.

Some enforceable policy instruments are used for non-point pollution, such as cross-compliance, technology standards, performance standards and taxes, and emissions trading. However, the use of enforceable mechanisms for non-point pollution control has been the policy of last resort, and their use is more widespread at state than at federal level. The more restrictive programmes are directed at serious problems where voluntary approaches have failed. It seems that cost-effective non-point pollution control requires a policy framework that uses a combination of tools designed for specific watersheds.

In Chapter 6, Young analyses Australian experiences of controlling non-point pollution. Australia makes extensive use of market-based instruments to improve water use, and there are plans under way to apply these instruments to the control of non-point pollution.

There is a salinity trading arrangement between four states in the Murray–Darling basin, where states get salinity credits and debits, linked to investments to reduce salinity. Another example of market-based instruments is the dryland salinity control in the Bet Bet catchment in Victoria, where there is a cap and trade programme for salinity, including individual and collective payments if the desired outcome is reached. Victoria is also using a combination of water trading and charging to reduce salinity, because water trading has caused non-point pollution problems. The scheme is based on a zoning system with charges among zones and prohibition of trade to the zones with more severe problems of salinity. South Australia has a salinity offset trading programme, where new irrigation developments have to offset their salinity impacts from reductions elsewhere, for example, decommissioned irrigation areas. The key message is that market-based approaches to non-point pollution are more flexible and foster innovation, and therefore are more cost efficient.

Chapter 7 by Wang completes the presentations in Part I on water quality policies. China is facing acute problems of water scarcity, water pollution, degradation of aquatic ecosystems, and more frequent extreme events. The larger threat at present is water pollution, making changes in water management unavoidable. Water quality degradation is caused by the enormous increase in point pollution loads from industries and urban centres, and also from agricultural non-point pollution. These pollution loads make 30 per cent of river tracts checked unsuitable for industrial use or irrigation, and the effects are quite serious for the population because 300 million people do not have access to safe drinking water.

There is a water management failure in China, because the solutions have been based on technological and engineering measures, while the institutional and management arrangements have been neglected. The pollution problem is compounded by the low efficiency of water use in irrigation, industries and urban centres. Water governance should be improved by taking an integrated management approach based on stakeholders’ involvement in management through cooperation, strong basin authorities, coordination of administrative bodies, laws and regulations that are truly enforced, and appropriate economic instruments and incentives. The importance of particular aquatic ecosystems should be evaluated to set priorities of protection for rivers and river sections.

Part II Irrigation technology to achieve water conservation

Water scarcity is becoming a serious problem in many arid and semi-arid regions of the world, where irrigation is the primary use of water. Worldwide extractions for the 280 million hectares of irrigated land amount to 2300km³ per year. This amount represents 70 per cent of total water extractions.

Collective irrigation is based on dams and channel networks, and social control over extractions can be implemented quite easily, provided that the institutions are in place and the policy decision is taken and supported by stakeholders. However, the problem of overdraft is much more difficult to solve in the case of aquifers with individual pumping, because aquifers are common pool resources and their control entails cooperation from all the agents managing the wells, requiring a much more complex institutional setting and quite elaborate decision-making processes based on trust.

Irrigation efficiency varies between countries, influenced by both technology use and policies supporting the adoption of advanced irrigation technologies. A common policy response to water scarcity in regions with large irrigation acreage is to promote advanced irrigation technologies. This is the case in countries that lead in irrigation technology adoption and supporting policies, because high scarcity pushes them to find innovative solutions, both technical and policy related. The recent multibillion dollar inves...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of Figures, Tables and Boxes
• List of Contributors
• List of Acronyms and Abbreviations
• 1 Introduction
• Part I: Non-point Source Pollution Regulation Approaches
• Part II: Irrigation Technology to Achieve Water Conservation
• Index