Water conservation policy alternatives for the Ogallala Aquifer in Texas

摘要

Texas groundwater law is based on the rule of capture; however, recent legislation provides groundwaternconservation districts with the authority to implement groundwater use rules to manage aquifers. The objective ofnthis study was to develop optimization models to analyze effects of groundwater policies on the Ogallala Aquifernand evaluate economic impacts on the Southern High Plains of Texas. The results of this study indicate that anpolicy that restricts the quantity of groundwater pumped conserved more water over the 50-year time horizon thannimplementation of a water use fee, but at a higher cost to local economies.