Keywords
water allocation criteria, integrated water management for irrigation, groundwater exploitation
Start Date
26-6-2018 10:40 AM
End Date
26-6-2018 12:00 PM
Abstract
Water pricing policies have been extensively used to enable changes in users’ behaviors toward more sustainable use of the resources. This work aims at investigating the impact of farm-scale water costs on water resources management and groundwater (GW) conservation at the district scale. A model capable to simulate farmers’ decisions concerning irrigation management was developed to interpret water allocation patterns in an intensive agricultural district of Southern Italy, supplied by groundwater and surface water (variable availability according to reservoir storage) with variable costs and management practices. This model was built based on semi-structured interviews carried out with local stakeholders, which supported defining: (i) the relationship between irrigation source selection and water tariff applied by the water management authority, and (ii) the conjunctive use of groundwater based on cost convenience to fulfill the irrigation needs. The fraction of farmers’ uptake from the district network, which is dependent on the volumetric tariff and the groundwater pumping cost, was evaluated during the model calibration phase using estimates of the irrigation needs. This fraction was found to be related to the water stock in the reservoir before the start of the irrigation season. The results also demonstrated that a restrictive water tariff policy applied during drought periods produced a sudden increase in the groundwater use instead of reducing the water-irrigation consumption. The model allows water managers to better understand the drivers influencing farmers’ behaviors and, thus, to assess the effective impacts of water protection policies, specifically those ones related to water and energy tariffs.
Modelling the impact of water pricing policies on farm-scale groundwater management
Water pricing policies have been extensively used to enable changes in users’ behaviors toward more sustainable use of the resources. This work aims at investigating the impact of farm-scale water costs on water resources management and groundwater (GW) conservation at the district scale. A model capable to simulate farmers’ decisions concerning irrigation management was developed to interpret water allocation patterns in an intensive agricultural district of Southern Italy, supplied by groundwater and surface water (variable availability according to reservoir storage) with variable costs and management practices. This model was built based on semi-structured interviews carried out with local stakeholders, which supported defining: (i) the relationship between irrigation source selection and water tariff applied by the water management authority, and (ii) the conjunctive use of groundwater based on cost convenience to fulfill the irrigation needs. The fraction of farmers’ uptake from the district network, which is dependent on the volumetric tariff and the groundwater pumping cost, was evaluated during the model calibration phase using estimates of the irrigation needs. This fraction was found to be related to the water stock in the reservoir before the start of the irrigation season. The results also demonstrated that a restrictive water tariff policy applied during drought periods produced a sudden increase in the groundwater use instead of reducing the water-irrigation consumption. The model allows water managers to better understand the drivers influencing farmers’ behaviors and, thus, to assess the effective impacts of water protection policies, specifically those ones related to water and energy tariffs.
Stream and Session
Stream C: Integrated Social, Economic, Ecological, and Infrastructural Modeling
C2: Application of Decision Support Tools for Integrated Water Resources Management