Water and the arid lands of the western United States

Book · Fri Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1988

OSTI ID:6255513

El-Ashry, M T; Gibbons, D C

The United States is water-rich, but conflicts over water development and use are increasing. Today, economic scarcity - not absolute physical scarcity - is the key issue in many places. In the arid American West, traditionally over 90 percent of the water consumed has been used to irrigate agriculture. But as cities grow and the states's economies diversify, municipal, commercial, and industrial uses exert more pressure. At the same time, groundwater mining and water quality degradation are becoming commonplace. The challenge is to increase productivity while equitably distributing the costs and benefits of water use. This book includes three case studies that cover primarily agricultural areas (the Central Valley of California, the High Plains of Texas, and the upper Colorado River basin) and three on the problems of metropolitan areas (Denver, Tucson, and the southern California megalopolis). The authors also identify policies that could help the West sustain economic growth without destroying or undervaluing its natural resources.

• OSTI ID: 6255513
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
290200 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Economics & Sociology
290400 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Energy Resources
520500* -- Environment
Aquatic-- Site Resource & Use Studies-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ABSTRACTS
AGRICULTURE
ARID LANDS
CALIFORNIA
COLORADO RIVER
DOCUMENT TYPES
ECONOMIC GROWTH
ECONOMICS
FEDERAL REGION IX
FEDERAL REGION VI
INDUSTRY
LEADING ABSTRACT
MANAGEMENT
NORTH AMERICA
POLLUTION
RESOURCE CONSERVATION
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
RESOURCES
RIVERS
STREAMS
SURFACE WATERS
TEXAS
URBAN AREAS
USA
WATER POLLUTION
WATER RESOURCES
WATER SUPPLY
WATER USE