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Treated Wastewater Reuse: An Efficient and Sustainable Solution for Water Resource Scarcity

Author

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  • Ami Reznik

    (University of California, Riverside)

  • Ariel Dinar

    (University of California, Riverside)

  • Francesc Hernández-Sancho

    (University of Valencia)

Abstract

Wastewater has become a valuable resource in many regions of the world that face increased level of freshwater scarcity. Reuse of treated wastewater has high economic benefit, but it can also lead to environmental pollution. As such, explicit conditions must be defined to determine the optimality of wastewater reuse for society. In this paper, we develop a regional multi-sectoral model of water quantity–quality interaction among the urban, agricultural, and environmental sectors. Our interest lies in the feasibility of reuse, rather than the stability of the regional arrangements, therefore we apply a social planner’s approach to this regional problem. We formally construct sufficient conditions that support the superiority of infrastructure development and conveyance of treated wastewater for irrigation, when measured against other common disposal alternatives. Using a numerical illustrative example, which relies on data and results from existing literature, we were able to replicate our theoretical findings, as well as to examine their robustness, when supporting assumptions are relaxed.

Suggested Citation

  • Ami Reznik & Ariel Dinar & Francesc Hernández-Sancho, 2019. "Treated Wastewater Reuse: An Efficient and Sustainable Solution for Water Resource Scarcity," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 74(4), pages 1647-1685, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:enreec:v:74:y:2019:i:4:d:10.1007_s10640-019-00383-2
    DOI: 10.1007/s10640-019-00383-2
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    Cited by:

    1. Ami Reznik & Ariel Dinar, 2022. "Local conditions and the economic feasibility of urban wastewater recycling in irrigated agriculture: Lessons from a stochastic regional analysis in California," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 44(4), pages 2115-2130, December.
    2. María J. López-Serrano & Juan F. Velasco-Muñoz & José A. Aznar-Sánchez & Isabel M. Román-Sánchez, 2020. "Sustainable Use of Wastewater in Agriculture: A Bibliometric Analysis of Worldwide Research," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-20, October.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Wastewater reuse; Optimal allocation; Social planner; Quantity–quality management; Externalities;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C61 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Mathematical Methods; Programming Models; Mathematical and Simulation Modeling - - - Optimization Techniques; Programming Models; Dynamic Analysis
    • Q15 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Land Ownership and Tenure; Land Reform; Land Use; Irrigation; Agriculture and Environment
    • Q25 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Water
    • Q53 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling

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