The authors assess alternative approaches to meeting long-term water needs and resolving conflicts among competing water users in five areas: the Columbia River Basin; Kern County, California; south California; Virginia Beach, Virginia; and northeastern Colorado. This book argues that America's water supply problems are caused largely by bad habits and poor policies-especially policies that price water far under its true value.

Originally published in 1986

1: Overview; 2: Competition Between Irrigation and Hydropower in the Pacific Northwest; 3: Water Scarcity and Gains from Trade in Kern County, California; 4: Satisfying Southern California's Thirst for Water: Efficient Alternatives; 5: Costs of Water Management Institutions: The Case of Southeastern Virginia; 6: Innovations in Water Management: Lessons from the Colorado-Big Thompson Project and Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District