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| Opportunities & Exposures: Natural Resources |
Fluid Arguments
Michael De Alessi
10/01/2004
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So why do farmers in Imperial not band together and sell “their”
water? In a word, politics. Farmers do not hold the water rights in the valley;
the Imperial Irrigation District does. The district board is elected by popular
vote, so it is more interested in redistributing the county’s water wealth as
broadly as possible among the electorate than it is in cost-effective water
conservation.
Under pressure from the federal government, farmers,
developers and environmentalists reached an agreement in late 2003—after seven
years of negotiations. While this skirmish is over, others across the West will
soon be fought due to bad law, inept policy and political self-interest. In
order to balance competing water uses, Western states must work toward a system
in which the public interest manifests itself through voluntary exchanges of
water, not prolonged political battles. Otherwise, water supplies will remain
uncertain, and the entrepreneurs, philanthropists and thought leaders who define
the West’s future will not be able make long-term decisions. This possibility
will leave everyone thirsty. | Michael De Alessi is director of natural resource policy for the Reason
Public Policy Institute and fellow in environmental studies at the
Pacific Research Institute. |
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