Economic impact analysis of reduced irrigated acreage in four river basins in Colorado

Abstract

Colorado's water is an important natural resource that contributes to the state's economic, cultural and social well-being (Pritchett, et al., 2005).However, this resource is of limited supply and has many competing uses.Although agriculture is still the dominant water use, rapid changes are occurring, and the impacts to Colorado's agricultural communities are a key concern.In the next twenty-five years, Colorado's population is expected to exceed 7 million people and an additional 632,000 acre-feet of water will be needed in cities to support their growth.An increasing consensus in the western water community is that new demands must be met primarily through the reallocation of existing supplies (Committee on Western Water Management, 1992).Because agriculture is the marginal-valued user of water supplies, the majority of this new water demand will be supplied through rural-tourban water transfers, with an estimated 400,000 irrigated agricultural acres "drying up" as these transfers occur (Pritchett, et al., 2005).Rural-to-urban water transfers create contentious, emotionally charged discussions that often center on the health of rural economies whose irrigated agricultural base is reduced with each transfer.