Water transfers in El Paso County, Texas

Fullerton, Thomas (2006): Water transfers in El Paso County, Texas. Published in: Water Policy , Vol. 8, No. 3 (2006): pp. 255-268.

Abstract

Water rights transfers for surface water have taken place in El Paso County in far west Texas for many decades. Historically, these exchanges have primarily occurred between agricultural water users. In recent decades, there have also been trnsfers from agricultural uses to urban uses. Ongoing commercial and demographic expansion in the El Paso metropolitan economy increases the likelihood of additional farm-to-municipal tranfers in future years. Although legal mechanisms have periodically been introduced to allow these exchanges to occur, pricing has not played a central role in the process. At present, water transfers in El Paso county occur under fairly rigid conditions.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Regional economic growth; surface water rights transfers
• Subjects: Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q2 - Renewable Resources and Conservation > Q25 - Water; R - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics > R1 - General Regional Economics > R11 - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes