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Background:
The importance of water to life means that providing
for water needs and demands of people will never be free of politics
and changing policy issues. Since fresh water is an irreplaceable
resource in finite supply, the demands for clean water are steadily
increasing as the world's population and industrial activities continue
to grow. This growing demand for fresh water is leading to evolutionary
changes in how water is managed. Traditionally, water has been highly
subsidized and provided at little or no cost to various segments
of our society. The rationale for this has been that water is the
basis of life and should be free to all. However, the growing demand
for clean water, coupled with increased competition and conflict,
is causing water to move from a publicly managed resource to an
economic commodity.
The water industry, which supplies potable water,
is undergoing consolidation, privatization and other market competition
changes, similar to what happened with gas, electricity and telecommunications
industries since the 1980s. Greater emphasis is being placed on
the economic value of high quality water, the costs of pollution
prevention, and we are beginning to rethink water pricing and allocation
policies that can better deal with issues such as scarcity, conservation
and sustainable water utility infrastructure funding. Plus, greater
emphasis is being placed on maintaining specific stream flow volumes
to sustain wildlife habitats and other natural environments.
We can expect to see more conflict as water becomes
a more precious commodity, even in relatively water rich states
like Alabama. Numerous strategies will likely be explored on how
to best price and market water so that it is affordable to everyone.
Local water authorities may completely disappear or they may become
more involved in water management and allocation as well as more
involved in pollution control and abatement programs, especially
at the watershed level.
Water Policy and Economics for Your Watershed:
No matter where you live, work or recreate, and
irregardless of the water source or type of system that supplies
your everyday needs - there will always be water quantity and quality
policies to deal with. Water is not a static resource and it can
be readily moved from one place to another. However, both water
quantity and quality, as impacted by the activities of people, can
best be monitored on a watershed basis. Therefore, many policies
that relate to both consumptive (withdrawal) uses and non-consumptive
(non-withdrawal) uses of water under changing economic and environmental
constraints can best be applied on a watershed basis.
Your watershed has limits on its fresh water resources,
and these limits may already be causing conflicts between the primary
consumptive and non-consumptive uses. General information on the
availability of fresh water supplies in your watershed is a good
starting point to help you understand that fresh water is a finite
resource that impacts most human activities within the watershed.
A number of local authorities or state agencies can assist you in
obtaining water resource and water use information. You will learn
the difference between consumptive and non-consumptive water uses,
and how water from non-consumptive uses can be recycled for additional
uses. You will learn that the sustainability of most human related
activities in your watershed, as well as future economic growth
and development, all depend on the availability of adequate fresh
water resources. One of the primary attractions for any added industry
to your watershed will be the availability and cost of fresh water
resources.
Sustainable economic growth and development in your
watershed will depend on local as well as state, regional and national
policies to maintain good water quality, while making the most effective
use of the water resources available in your watershed. Good quality
water for industry, agriculture and potable uses are extremely important.
But availability of good quality water for fishing, recreational
uses and just general pleasure and scenic appeal are much more important
to the economy of an area than most persons realize. Tourism and
recreation dollars are highly dependent on the quantity and quality
of local lakes within your watershed.
Resources and Programs:
The Alabama Land Grant University System provides
research, education and extension outreach resources and programs
to assist local, state and federal agencies, businesses and industries,
communities and individual citizens in addressing water policy issues
and management. These programs are designed to provide information
for specific audiences to include resource managers, agricultural
producers, homeowners and youth.
Publications:
Web Links:
FAQs:
Auburn University Water Policy and Economics Team:
Bob Goodman
Donn Rodekohr
Alabama
Department of Economic and Community Affairs
Alabama
Department of Economic and Community Affairs, Office of Water Resources
Alabama
Department of Environmental Management, Water Division
Geological
Survey of Alabama
United States Geological
Survey
USDA
National Water & Climate Center
Extension Outreach:
The Alabama Cooperative Extension System is an
outreach education arm of Alabama A&M and Auburn Universities,
and both work closely with Tuskegee University's Extension educators
to provide education outreach into all counties of the state. Outreach
education enables the research developed at colleges and universities,
both within and outside of Alabama, to be used in practical applications
to solve water resource problems in Alabama.
Alabama
Water Quality Curriculum
Alabama
Irrigation / Water Resources
Nonpoint Source
Education for Municipal Officials (NEMO)
Research:
A primary mission of scientific research at Alabama's Land Grant
Universities is to develop new and better ways of providing the
agricultural needs of Alabama's citizens, while protecting our natural
resources for long-term sustainability.
Auburn University
Environmental Institute
Alabama
Water Resources Research Institute
Alabama
Agricultural Experiment Stations
Auburn
University Department of Agronomy and Soils
Auburn
University Department of Biosystems Engineering
Auburn
University Department of Fisheries and Allied Aquaculture
Auburn
University Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology
College and University Education:
Courses offered at Auburn University related to Water Quantity
and Policy may be found in the following departments:
Auburn
University Department of Agronomy and Soils
Auburn
University Department of Biosystems Engineering
Auburn
University Department of Fisheries and Allied Aquaculture
Auburn
University Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology
Auburn
University Department of Civil Engineering
Auburn
University Department of Political Science
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