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Urban water management: optimal price and investment policy under uncertainty

Author

Listed:
  • Hughes, Neal
  • Hafi, Ahmed
  • Goesch, Tim
  • Brownlowe, Nathan

Abstract

Australian urban water utilities face a significant challenge in designing appropriate demand management and supply augmentation policies in the presence of increasing water scarcity and uncertainty over future dam inflows. This paper considers the design of optimal demand management and supply augmentation policies for urban water. In particular, scarcity pricing is considered as a potential alternative to the predominant demand management policy of water restrictions. A stochastic dynamic programming model of an urban water market is developed based on data from the Australian Capital Territory. The model involves an explicit consideration of uncertainty via a probability distribution over dam inflows. Given a specification of the demand and supply for urban water, state dependent optimal price and investment policies are estimated. The results illustrate how the optimal urban water price varies inversely with the prevailing storage level and how the optimal timing of investment differs significantly between rain dependent and rain independent augmentation options.

Suggested Citation

  • Hughes, Neal & Hafi, Ahmed & Goesch, Tim & Brownlowe, Nathan, 2008. "Urban water management: optimal price and investment policy under uncertainty," 2008 Conference (52nd), February 5-8, 2008, Canberra, Australia 6005, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:aare08:6005
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.6005
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. R. Quentin Grafton & Tom Kompas, 2006. "Sydney Water : Pricing for Sustainability," Microeconomics Working Papers 21835, East Asian Bureau of Economic Research.
    2. Hugh Sibly, 2006. "Urban Water Pricing," Agenda - A Journal of Policy Analysis and Reform, Australian National University, College of Business and Economics, School of Economics, vol. 13(1), pages 17-30.
    3. Jasper M. Dalhuisen & Raymond J. G. M. Florax & JHenri L. F. de Groot & Peter Nijkamp, 2003. "Price and Income Elasticities of Residential Water Demand: A Meta-Analysis," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 79(2), pages 292-308.
    4. Donna Brennan & Sorada Tapsuwan & Gordon Ingram, 2007. "The welfare costs of urban outdoor water restrictions," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 51(3), pages 243-261, September.
    5. repec:ags:aare05:139341 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Mark Hoffmann & Andrew Worthington & Helen Higgs, 2006. "Urban water demand with fixed volumetric charging in a large municipality: the case of Brisbane, Australia ," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 50(3), pages 347-359, September.
    7. David Hensher & Nina Shore & Kenneth Train, 2006. "Water Supply Security and Willingness to Pay to Avoid Drought Restrictions," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 82(256), pages 56-66, March.
    8. Page, Sharon & Hafi, Ahmed & Beare, Stephen, 2007. "Urban Water Options Contracts - Rural to Urban Water Trade," 2007 Conference (51st), February 13-16, 2007, Queenstown, New Zealand 10398, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society.
    9. Richard Bellman, 1957. "On a Dynamic Programming Approach to the Caterer Problem--I," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 3(3), pages 270-278, April.
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    11. Brennan, Donna C., 2006. "The Efficiency And Equity Implications Of Perth’S Inclining Block Urban Water Tariffs," 2006 Conference (50th), February 8-10, 2006, Sydney, Australia 174095, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Barker, Andrew & Murray, Tim & Salerian, John, 2010. "Developing a Partial Equilibrium Model of an Urban Water System," Staff Working Papers 102, Productivity Commission, Government of Australia.
    2. Freebairn, John W., 2012. "Risk Aversion and Urban Water Decisions," 2012 Conference (56th), February 7-10, 2012, Fremantle, Australia 124206, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society.
    3. Neal Hughes & Ahmed Hafi & Tim Goesch, 2009. "Urban water management: optimal price and investment policy under climate variability ," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 53(2), pages 175-192, April.
    4. Productivity Commission, 2008. "Towards Urban Water Reform: A Discussion Paper," Research Papers 0801, Productivity Commission, Government of Australia.

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