|
|
The Value of Water
When water is treated as a marketable commodity, questions arise as to how to set its value. It is possible to tally up the going rate for an acre-foot of water, treatment costs, associated piping, etc. But treating water as a simple commodity like oil or livestock is too simplistic. It's value runs deeper and includes preserving our cultural heritage, the rural economy and way of life, and more tangible aspects such as maintaining soil moisture levels, springflow, and base-flows for rivers and streams. It is extremely difficult to quantify these values on the same scale as the price municipalities are willing to pay for water supplies.
|
|
|
|
Economics