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Groundwater Doctrine and Water Withdrawals in the United States

Author

Listed:
  • Sadia A. Jame

    (Purdue University
    Purdue University)

  • Laura C. Bowling

    (Purdue University)

Abstract

Groundwater is a valuable natural resource which is directly related to food production, human and ecosystem health. In the US, 48% of irrigated agriculture relies on groundwater, but there is no systematic national program responsible for groundwater management. For this paper, each US state was classified based on its most prevalent groundwater doctrine: Absolute Ownership, Prior Appropriation, Reasonable Use, and Correlative Rights. The Köppen climate zone of each state, USGS runoff data and USGS county-level water use data from 1985 to 2015 were used to analyze how groundwater use varies with climate and groundwater doctrine. Semi-arid states, which all follow Prior Appropriation doctrine, have the highest average irrigation rate, while states following Reasonable Use doctrine have the lowest average rate, but the largest variability. Analysis of Covariance shows that in Prior Appropriation states, irrigation volume and area do not increase during warm, dry periods but in Absolute Ownership states irrigation volume does increase. Water use trend analysis shows that irrigated area and groundwater withdrawals have increased over the last 30 years in humid and temperate regions, while irrigated area has decreased in semi-arid regions. At the same time, irrigation rate and the fraction of irrigation coming from groundwater has increased everywhere, suggesting a potential shift in the preferred water source for irrigation. This data analysis will provide insights for future work on how water policy should respond to water scarcity in US.

Suggested Citation

  • Sadia A. Jame & Laura C. Bowling, 2020. "Groundwater Doctrine and Water Withdrawals in the United States," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 34(13), pages 4037-4052, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:waterr:v:34:y:2020:i:13:d:10.1007_s11269-020-02642-0
    DOI: 10.1007/s11269-020-02642-0
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Steward, David R. & Allen, Andrew J., 2016. "Peak groundwater depletion in the High Plains Aquifer, projections from 1930 to 2110," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 170(C), pages 36-48.
    2. Van Dop, Molly & Gramig, Benjamin M. & Sesmero, Juan P., 2016. "Irrigation Adoption, Groundwater Demand and Policy in the U.S. Corn Belt, 2040-2070," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 235661, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    3. Prashant Kumar & Praveen Kumar Thakur & Baban K. S. Bansod & Sanjit K. Debnath, 2018. "Groundwater: a regional resource and a regional governance," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 20(3), pages 1133-1151, June.
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    Cited by:

    1. Ray, Srabashi & Hertel, Thomas, 2022. "Assessing The Impact Of Conservation Policies On Rural Communities: The Role Of Labor Markets," Conference papers 333401, Purdue University, Center for Global Trade Analysis, Global Trade Analysis Project.
    2. Keith A. Cherkauer & Laura C. Bowling & Kyuhyun Byun & Indrajeet Chaubey & Natalie Chin & Darren L. Ficklin & Alan F. Hamlet & Stephen J. Kines & Charlotte I. Lee & Ram Neupane & Garett W. Pignotti & , 2021. "Climate change impacts and strategies for adaptation for water resource management in Indiana," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 165(1), pages 1-20, March.

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