Measuring ‘no-win’ waterscapes: Experience-based scales and classification approaches to assess household water security in colonias on the US–Mexico border

This paper develops a household water security measurement for low-income peri-urban and rural communities (‘‘colonias’’) on the US–Mexico border. The complexity of a ‘‘no-win’’ waterscape – where water service exists but is relatively expensive and water quality is still precarious – precludes a meaningful assessment and analysis because there are no existing measurement tools to capture water insecurity at the household level. Informed by critical environmental epistemology, the paper incorporates perspectives from colonias residents through qualitative research and survey development. The study advances previous work on water security by developing a cumulative scale for each characteristic of household water security then clusters households into water security classes using a non-parametric statistical procedure. The analysis identified four water security classes: (1) Water Secure; (2) Marginally Water Secure; (3) Marginally Water Insecure; (4) Water Insecure. While all households in the survey are connected to water service, only 45% are broadly ‘‘water secure’’ while 55% are ‘‘water insecure.’’ Statistical analysis confirmed the robustness of the scaling and clustering procedure, thus, providing evidence to describe household water insecurity in ‘‘no-win’’ waterscapes.

DIVERSITYGuest UserJune 1, 2013Texas A&M, ELSEVIER, GeoForum, Residential, Access, Equity, Wendy Jepson

A modeling approach to evaluate the impacts of water quality management plans implemented in a watershed in Texas

Several best management practices (BMPs) have been implemented through Water Quality Management Plans (WQMPs) in the West Fork Watershed of Trinity River Basin in Texas, USA, where nonpoint source pollution is a serious concern. Major sources of pollution are sediment erosion and nutrients. The objective of this study was to evaluate the long-term impact of implementation of WQMPs on nonpoint source pollution at the farm level and watershed level using a modeling approach. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool watershed model was applied to quantify the impacts of implementing WQMPs on sediment and nutrients. A pre- BMP scenario representing conditions of the watershed prior to the implementation of WQMPs, and a post-BMP scenario representing the conditions of the watershed after implementation of WQMPs were simulated to estimate the reductions in nonpoint source pollution due to WQMP implementation. The results are presented as percentage reductions in sediment and nutrient loadings, at the farm level and at two locations within the watershed. The results revealed that (a) the benefits of the WQMPs were greater (up to 99%) at the farm level and (b) the benefits due to WQMPs were 1e2% at the watershed level. Watershed level benefits are tangible as the WQMP implementation area is very small compared to the watershed area. An additional scenario was evaluated to show the possible impacts of expanding the current BMP effort on load reductions. This study showed that a modeling approach can be used to estimate the impacts of water quality management programs in large watersheds.

The Economic Value of Water in Agriculture: Concepts and Policy Applications

The design of institutions that maximizes water’s beneficial use in the face of growing demands for scarce andrand om supplies is the central policy issue in dry places. Information on water’s economic value enables decision makers to make informed choices on water development, conservation, allocation, and use when growing demands for all uses are made in the face of increased scarcity. Conceptually correct and empirically accurate estimates of the economic value of water are essential for rational allocation of scarce water across locations, uses, users, andtime periods. This review article raises several issues that must be considered in deriving accurate estimates of the economic value of water. These include establishing common denominators for water values in quantity, time, location and quality; identifying the point of view from which values are measured; distinguishing the period of adjustment over which values are estimated; and accounting for the difference between total, average, and incremental values of water. We llustrate values of water for agricultural use, based on a recent drought policy analysis of the Rio Grande Basin.