Water

Overview:
	Policy issues surrouding water allocation in the western US have economic, legal and social dimensions. Rights to use surface water (e.g., to divert it from streams) are based on the "prior approriations doctrine" of "first in time, first in right." In Oregon, irrigation uses represent more than 80 percent of water withdrawals. Not all water rights in the State have been fully adjudicated. With rising population and incomes, demand for water has increased and so too have the conflicts over water. One sources of conflict is between water diversions versus instream flows to ensure adequate aquatic habitats such as those deemed necessary for protection of endangered salmon and other native fish. Whereas markets are accepted, well-developed mechanisms for efficiently allocating land, labor and other resources, flexible transfer mechanisms such as water markets or water banks for transfers of water among alternative uses have only recently been introduced in Oregon. Water transfer mechanisms have the potential to greatly increase the efficiency with which water is allocated among agricultural uses, and also between agriculture and other uses. The introduction of water markets, however, is controversial in part due to concern that water leases or sales which take water out of agricultural uses will have permanent, adverse effects on the local agricultural economy and its rural communities.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
	What is a water bank?
	How common are water banks?
Other Resources and Internet Links:
	Oregon Water Resources Department
	Oregon Water Trust
	Columbia Basin Water Transactions Program
	OSU's Center for Water and Environmental Sustainability
Publications, Presentations and Working Papers
	Increasing streamflow to sustain salmon and other native fish in the Pacific Northwest by William Jaeger & Raymond Mikesell
	Benefits to fish, benefits to farmers: improving streamflow and water allocation in the Pacific Northwest by William Jaeger & Bob Doppelt.
	Water Allocation in the Klamath Reclamation Project, 2001 A report by Oregon State University and the University of California
	Water Allocation Alternatives for the Upper Klamath Basin by William Jaeger, Chapter 19 of the OSU/UC "Klamath Report."
	Klamath "Brief #1" on the economic value of irrigation water  by William Jaeger, January 2004
	Klamath "Brief #2" on the potential benefits from water transfers by William Jaeger, January 2004
	Klamath "Brief #3" on the impact of anticipapted energy price increases by William Jaeger, July 2004