Identifying and protecting community values in western water : a survey of community leaders' perceptions towards rural-to-urban water transfers

Abstract

The degree to which policymakers should facilitate or regulate water transfers is a controversial new issue on the western water policy agenda. While contemporary emphasis favors market solutions to water supply-and-demand problems, the reallocation of water from rural agricultural uses to urban municipal and industrial uses has generated interregional competition and conflict. Proponents praise water transfers as being economically efficient; other interests criticize market mechanisms for failing to protect community values. This thesis presents the results of a survey of 317 community leaders from Arizona, New Mexico and West Texas regarding water transfer impacts. Results indicate that both urban and rural leaders perceive that rural areas face significant losses from water transfers. The over-all perception of leaders that community losses are not compensable implies that assigning water decisions solely to the marketplace is unlikely to reduce social conflict and lower the transaction costs associated with water transfers.