Blog: Meeting information needs for water markets: Understanding water diversion and use
Water scarcity is a growing problem for agriculture and ecosystems across the U.S. Southwest. In many areas, unsustainable water use has overstretched local water supplies, and climate change is making these supplies more volatile. Water markets have the potential to enhance climate resilience by helping water users adapt to short-term variations in water supply and by easing long-term transitions to more sustainable levels of water use. However, this promise can only be realized if markets are truly fair and effective—able to achieve their intended goals without causing negative side effects. Our new report examines a foundational prerequisite for fair and effective water markets: adequate information about water diversion and use. This information is necessary because it defines what can be traded, enables market administrators and participants to track trading transactions and changes in the physical and legal availability of water, and facilitates assessment of the impacts trading has on others.
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