Cover; Title; Copyright; Contents; List of Figures and Tables; Foreword; Acknowledgments; Introduction; Part I: History and Evolution of Subsidies; Part II: Policy Recommendations to Facilitate Water Marketing; Part III: Case Studies of Potential Water Transfers; Guidance to the Reader; Recent Developments; References; PART I HISTORY AND EVOLUTION OF SUBSIDIES; 1 History of Federal Involvement in the Reclamation Movement; Early Controversy Surrounding the Federal Government's Role in Irrigation Development; Direct Federal Involvement-The Reclamation Act of 1902
Acreage Served by the Reclamation ProgramConclusions: The Increasing Federal Role in Irrigation Development; References; 2 Irrigation Subsidies in the Reclamation Program; The Gradual Enlargement of Irrigation Subsidies; Estimates of the Interest and ""Ability-to-Pay"" Subsidies; Ex Post Evaluation of Irrigators' ""Ability to Pay"" and of Project Economic Benefits; Other Bureau of Reclamation Claims Regarding Repayment; Other Sources of Federal Subsidies for Irrigation; Conclusions: Effects of the Irrigation Subsidy; References
3 Administrative Extension of Subsidies: The Central Valley ProjectDevelopment of the Federal Central Valley Project and Conflict with the State Water Project; History of Water Rate-Setting Practices in the Central Valley Project; Analysis of CVP Repayment; Recent Influences on CVP Rate-Setting; Conclusions: The Consequences of Public Versus Private Development; References; 4 Attempts to Limit the Reclamation Subsidy: The Reclamation Reform Act of 1982; Acreage Limitation and Residency Under the 1902 Act; Legislative Proposals Leading to the Reclamation Reform Act of 1982
From Proposed to Final Regulations in 1983Revised Final Regulations in 1987; Recent Developments; Conclusions; References; Appendix: Contract Dispute with Westlands Water District; History of the Contract Dispute; The Threatened Shutoff of Water and the Ensuing Lawsuit; Analysis of Settlement and Litigation Outcomes; Bureau Support for the Settlement; Conclusions; References; PART II POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS TO FACILITATE WATER MARKETING; 5 Promoting More Efficient Use of Federally Supplied Water; Alternative Means for Promoting More Efficient Use of Low-Cost, Federally Supplied Water
Examples of Transfers Involving Federally Supplied WaterConclusions; References; 6 Federal Policy Changes to Facilitate Voluntary Water Transfers; Provisions Related to Voluntary Water Transfers and Recommended Changes; Consequences of a Policy to Facilitate Transfers; Conclusions: The Expanding Uses of Water Under Reclamation Law; References; PART III CASE STUDIES OF POTENTIAL WATER TRANSFERS; 7 Water Contamination Problems at Kesterson Reservoir; History of Drainage Problems in the San Luis Unit; The Contribution of Federally Subsidized Water to the Kesterson Reservoir Problem
Summary
This book clearly and authoritatively addresses significant issues of water policy in the western United States at a time when the growing scarcity of western water and the role of the Bureau of Reclamation in the allocation of that resource are becoming increasingly urgent issues. In this scholarly study, Wahl combines his insider's knowledge of the Interior Department's dam-building, regulatory, and water-pricing decisions with an objective analysis of the efficiency dilemma. The study begins by tracing the origins of the reclamation idea and the expansion of subsidies in the program since 1
