Question

Suppose you have the opportunity to define a new system of property rights for water. What are the most important attributes you would want to ensure for your property rights and why?

Answer 1

• Water resource problems may generally be placed into two majorclasses-policy issues and technical program details.

• Economics canprovide some useful insights for certain policy issues

• The basic economic problem is one of scarcity, when the demandfor water is high relative to its supply.

• When supply and demand arenot balanced, the problem can be attacked from either the supply orthe demand side. Supply can be increased to meet demand, ordemand can be constrained so that it is limited to the availablesupply.

• engineering solution, i.e., build whatever structures arenecessary to meet water needs

• cost of developing new sources of supply increasedsubstantially as relatively cheap sources were tapped.

• The allocation problem would be solved automatically if waterwere bought and sold within a market structure

• resulting allocation would generate a maximum socialvalue of water

• economic point of view, efficient use is amajor contemporary water problem

• Efficient use of water dependson a mechanism for allocation or transfer.

CURRENT PROPERTY RIGHT ARRANGEMENTS FOR WATER

Principal Property Right Doctrines

• Two major surface water rights systems are recognized in theUnited States-riparian and appropriative.

• found in the Eastern states and Western states.

• riparian and appropriative rights to water, there are in some jurisdictions two other classes of water rights.

• One is thecorrelative right, which relates to ground water

• An individual whoowns land over a body of percolating ground water, i.e., groundwater moving slowly through the soil and not part of a definiteunderground stream, is entitled to withdraw the water for use uponhis overlying land.

• The other right is the pueblo right

• A city that is asuccessor to a Spanish or Mexican pueblo has the right to use astream that flowed through the old pueblo.

  • Nature of Property Rights in Water

    • fundamental principle of the law of water courses is that thecorpus of water in a natural water course is the property of no one.

    • The doctrine of public owner-ship of available water supply has been declared in many states andlays the foundation for state control over the management and use ofwater

    • water flowing in its natural channel is the property of thepublic, upon severance from the stream flow it generally becomesprivate property.

    • The right of capture and use are "water rights." This usufructuaryright is regarded and protected as property.

    • The right of capture and use are "water rights." This usufructuaryright is regarded and protected as property.

    • Beneficial use is the basis, measure and the limit of the right to the use ofwater.

PROPERTY RIGHT ISSUES IN WATER PROBLEMS

• principle water problem from an economicperspective is one of efficiency in use

• The fundamental issue in thisproblem is developing water allocation criteria and mechanisms forthe initial acquisition of rights and their later transfer.

• The rights and duties conveyed by property rightsevolved during a period of abundant water.

• The rationalization of the initial granting of rights and subsequenttransfer of rights can lead to an increase in efficiency.

ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES TO THE SOLUTION OF PROBLEMS

• Elements of administrative and structural changeviewed from the perspective of both planned and unplanned change

  • PLANNED CHANGE

    • Change in the Mangagement of the Structure

      • The need to change from water supply management to water re-sources management has long been advocated.

      • The latter includes allphases of pre- and post-use water management and recognizes theinterrelationships between sources of water

      • The opportunity for positive water management lies at two inter-related levels-the granting of new rights and the management ofexisting rights.

    • Piecemeal Change Within The Structure

      • Change in the property rights structure occurs as a reaction to pres-sures exerted by water users attempting to solve a felt problem.

      • waterproblems are nothing more than the aggregate of individual problemswhich can be solved individually in a remedial fashion

UNPLANNED CHANGE

• Unplanned change has also occurred from within the watereconomy itself

• These changes have important implications for solu-tion of water problems and for selection of appropriate interventionstrategies.

• Water administrators should take advantage of this change in thestructure of the water economy.

• A changed structure means thatdifferent intervention strategies can be applied.

legal framework: property rights and water

• Ownership

  • person can own an object and can therefore ‘rule’ (within certain legal limits) over that object.

  • In Netherlands, the riverbed can be owned, but the bed of public navigable waters is presumed to be (publicly) owned by the State

  • water itself cannot be owned and the restrictions in both jurisdictions on privately owning riverbeds are important legal limitations.

• stronger property rights affect investment is critical for policymakers to better manage the urbanisation process.

• effective institutions, including secure property rights, are critical for sustained economic growth

• Weak property rights in African cities are likely linked to reduced investment, inefficient labour allocation, and lower tax revenues, thus lowering both the living standards and productivity of millions of African households.