The Economics and Management of Water and Drainage in Agriculture

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xix

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2. Background and Setting

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1

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   2. Introduction and Overview

      • Ariel Dinar, David Zilberman

      Pages 3-8

   3. Irrigation, Drainage, and Agricultural Development in the San Joaquin Valley

      • Lloyd J. Mercer, W. Douglas Morgan

      Pages 9-27

   4. Overview of Sources, Distribution, and Mobility of Selenium in the San Joaquin Valley, California

      • Robert J. Gilliom

      Pages 29-47

3. Engineering, Physical, and Biological Approaches to Drainage Problems

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 49-49

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   2. Hydrologic Aspects of Saline Water Table Management in Regional Shallow Aquifers

      • Mark E. Grismer, Timothy K. Gates

      Pages 51-70

   3. Ground-Water Pumping for Water Table Management and Drainage Control in the Western San Joaquin Valley

      • Nigel W. T. Quinn

      Pages 71-97

   4. Reuse of Agricultural Drainage Water to Maximize the Beneficial Use of Multiple Water Supplies for Irrigation

      • James D. Rhoades, Ariel Dinar

      Pages 99-115

   5. Land Retirement as a Strategy for Long-Term Management of Agricultural Drainage and Related Problems

      • Craig M. Stroh

      Pages 117-141

   6. San Joaquin Salt Balance: Future Prospects and Possible Solutions

      • Gerald T. Orlob

      Pages 143-167

   7. Removal of Selenium from Agricultural Drainage Water Through Soil Microbial Transformations

      • Elisabeth T. Thompson-Eagle, William T. Frankenberger Jr., Karl E. Longley

      Pages 169-186

   8. A Conceptual Planning Process for Management of Subsurface Drainage

      • Donald G. Swain

      Pages 187-205

4. Economics of Farm Level Irrigation and Drainage

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 207-207

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   2. Crop-Water Production Function and the Problems of Drainage and Salinity

      • John Letey

      Pages 209-227

   3. Effects of Input Quality and Environmental Conditions on Selection of Irrigation Technologies

      • Ariel Dinar, David Zilberman

      Pages 229-250

   4. Estimation of Production Systems with Emphasis on Water Productivity

      • Richard E. Just

      Pages 251-274

   5. Increasing Block-Rate Prices for Irrigation Water Motivate Drain Water Reduction

      • Dennis Wichelns

      Pages 275-294

   6. Irrigation Technology Adoption Decisions: Empirical Evidence

      • Margriet F. Caswell

      Pages 295-312

5. Environmental and Public Health Impacts of Drainage

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 313-313

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Jan van Schilfgaarde, USDA Agricultural Research Service and National Research Council Committee on Irrigation-Induced Water Quality Problems In 1982, a startling discovery was made. Many waterbirds in Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge were dying or suffering reproductive failure. Located in the San Joaquin Valley (Valley) of California, the Kesterson Reservoir (Kesterson) was used to store agricultural drainage water and it was soon determined that the probable cause of the damage to wildlife was high concen­ trations of selenium, derived from the water and water organisms in the reservoir. This discovery drastically changed numerous aspects of water management in California, and especially affected irrigated agriculture. In fact, the repercussions spilled over to much of the Western United States. For a century, water development for irrigation has been a religiously pursued means for economic development of the West. The primary objective of the Reclamation Act of 1902 was, purportedly, the development ofirrigation water to support family farms which, in turn, would enhance the regional economy (Worster, 1985).

• agriculture
• irrigation
• water

• Davis and USDA-ERS, University of California, USA

  Ariel Dinar

• University of California, Riverside, USA

  Ariel Dinar

• San Joaquin Valley Drainage Program, USA

  Ariel Dinar

• University of California, Berkeley, USA

  David Zilberman

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