Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2002HI2B

A win-win approach to water pricing and watershed conservation

Institute: Hawaii
Year Established: 2002 Start Date: 2002-03-01 End Date: 2005-02-28
Total Federal Funds: $72,465 Total Non-Federal Funds: $145,294

Principal Investigators: James Roumasset, Rodney Smith

Project Summary: An integrated model of water pricing and watershed conservation will be developed. The benefits of adopting the efficient integrated policy will be compared to the status quo policy of under-pricing water and under-maintaining the watershed and to the policy of adopting efficient pricing without efficient watershed management. The model will be applied to Leeward Oahu. In particular, we will explore the hypothesis that efficient watershed maintenance will lower the efficiency price of water enough to offset the increase in price required for efficiency pricing without proper maintenance. This leads to the possibility of a win-win-win situation. Current consumers avoid the severe water rationing that would accompany the continuation of current pricing policies in the face of substantial watershed damage. Future consumers avoid the inevitably high prices associated with the required use of desalinated water. Tourists and other consumers of the environment also win, making the policy a prototype for sustainable resource management and sustainable tourism.