Optimal Water Allocation under Deficit Irrigation in the Context of Colorado Water Law

Varzi, Manijeh Mahmoudzadeh; Trout, Thomas J.; DeJonge, Kendall C.; Oad, Ramchand

doi:10.1061/(asce)ir.1943-4774.0001374

Cited by 9 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…A WPF can be used for economic analysis by predicting the yield as a function of ET c . The resulting WPF from this study was concave (Figure 4), agreeing with the hypothesis of a diminishing marginal product per unit of ET [17]. A zero intercept was applied to this function to represent zero yield with zero ET [29,30].…”

Section: Alfalfa Et and Biomasssupporting

confidence: 76%

“…The crop WPF can determine if the marginal value of water for leasing can be more than the value of water for farming. Varzi et al [17] found that a concave WPF financially benefits a farmer to implement deficit irrigation because leasing water to municipalities and industries are valued at a higher price than leasing water among farmers in this region.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Developing a Crop Water Production Function for Alfalfa under Deficit Irrigation: A Case Study in Eastern Colorado

et al. 2023

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Recent Colorado, USA water law provisions allow a portion of irrigation water to be leased between agricultural and other users. Reducing consumptive use (CU) through deficit irrigation while maintaining some crop production could allow farmers to earn revenue from leasing water rights. This observational study aimed to determine if deficit irrigation of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) can be used to reduce CU, provide parameters for an alfalfa crop water production function (WPF), and evaluate the potential for improved farm income by leasing water. Soil water balance, evapotranspiration (ET), and dry matter yield from eight commercial fields (1.70 to 2.14 ha zones), growing subsurface drip-irrigated alfalfa, were monitored for five seasons (2018–2022) at Kersey, Colorado. Four irrigation treatments [Standard Irrigation (SI) = irrigate when soil water deficit (D) exceeds management allowed depletion (MAD); Moderate Deficit Irrigation (MDI) = 70% of SI; Severe Deficit Irrigation (SDI) = 50% of SI; and Over Irrigation (OI) = 120% of SI] were applied, with two zones per treatment. Reductions in CU ranged from 205 to 260 mm per season. The shape of the alfalfa WPF (dry biomass yield vs. ET) was concave, indicating that water use efficiency (WUE) could be optimized through deficit irrigation. The average WUE was 0.17 Mg ha−1 cm−1 and tended to increase with greater deficits. Deficit irrigation also increased the relative feed value. If conserved CU from deficit irrigation can be leased into a transfer water market, farmers could profit when the water lease revenue exceeds the forgone profit from alfalfa production. We found incremental profit from deficit irrigation and water leasing to be positive, assuming 2020 prices for hay ($230 bale−1) and water prices above $0.50 m−3.

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Section: Alfalfa Et and Biomasssupporting

confidence: 76%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing a Crop Water Production Function for Alfalfa under Deficit Irrigation: A Case Study in Eastern Colorado

et al. 2023

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“…Also, groundwater use has gained prominence in water law publications (Milanés-Murcia, 2019;Viljoen, 2020;Cuadrado-Quesada and Joy, 2021). The UNECE has published a Handbook on Water Allocation in a Transboundary Context under the 1992 Water Convention (UNECE, 2021) and water allocation has been discussed in research to some extent (Larson and Tarlock, 2019;Mahmoudzadeh Varzi et al, 2019).…”

Section: Water Use and Protectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Water law

Soininen,

Belinskij,

Puharinen

2023

Camb. prisms Water

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This article gives an overview of the global water law research and provides a contemporary understanding of water law spanning across public and private law questions of natural resources use, environmental protection, and water-related disasters. The overview is based on a systematic literature review. Using HLA Hart’s distinction, we divide the various strands of water law scholarship into two main perspectives, namely the internal and the external. From the law’s internal perspective, water law research is conducted with an intent to interpret and clarify rights and obligations in existing legal instruments, such as multilateral agreements and national statutes, and case law. Based on the literature review, vibrant themes from this perspective are water use and protection, water cooperation, human right to water, rights of nature, water security, water services, and coherence between legal instruments and institutions. From law’s external perspective, the focus of water law research is to analyse and understand how law as an instrument and societal institution facilitates and steers, but also impedes, the movement of public and private actors toward certain societal goals effectively and legitimately. Here, themes such as water law in collaborative and adaptive governance, ecosystem approach, good governance, and climate change adaptation are central.

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“…It is important to study the economic impact of reducing irrigation (Hargreaves and Samani 1984; English 1990; English and Raja 1996; Amosson et al 2009; Hoekstra et al 2011; Gobin et al 2017; Manning et al 2018; Varzi et al 2019; among others) to measure water-use efficiency and make policy recommendations to reduce the impact of agriculture on water supplies. In this light, one of our objectives is to identify the financial impact on producers of limiting water use through hypothetical reductions in evapotranspiration (ET) as a proxy for government water limiting policies and the relation to other important economic parameters like output prices and input prices.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Economics of deficit irrigation utilizing soil moisture probes in the western corn belt

O’Donnell¹,

Nogueira

Walters

et al. 2023

Agric. Resour. Econom. Rev.

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Effective irrigation management is critical for future food supplies and the prosperity of producers engaged in irrigation production. Through a deficit irrigation field experiment, we determine the financial impact on producers caused by changing irrigation costs, corn prices, extreme weather events, and restricting irrigation levels. Results suggest that the optimal economic strategy within our constrained optimization model is to fully irrigate, with the economic impact highly dependent on commodity prices, restriction level, and irrigation costs. The greatest economic losses caused by irrigation restrictions come from decreases in yield. Some simulations resulted in negative profits, indicating that a switch to alternative crops requiring less irrigation may be warranted.

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Optimal Water Allocation under Deficit Irrigation in the Context of Colorado Water Law

Cited by 9 publications

References 8 publications

Developing a Crop Water Production Function for Alfalfa under Deficit Irrigation: A Case Study in Eastern Colorado

Developing a Crop Water Production Function for Alfalfa under Deficit Irrigation: A Case Study in Eastern Colorado

Water law

Economics of deficit irrigation utilizing soil moisture probes in the western corn belt

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