BOOK
Water Resources Allocation
(2015)
Additional Information
Book Details
Abstract
Water resources allocation determines who is able to use water resources, how, when and where. It directly affects the value (economic, ecological, socio-cultural) that individuals and society obtain from water resources. This report overviews how allocation works in a range of countries and how the performance of allocation arrangements can be improved to adjust to changing conditions. Capturing information from 27 OECD countries and key partner economies, the report presents key findings from the OECD Survey of Water Resources Allocation and case studies of successful allocation reform. It provides practical policy guidance for water allocation in the form of a "health check", which can be used to assess the performance of current arrangements and manage the transition to improved regimes.
Table of Contents
| Section Title | Page | Action | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cover | Cover | ||
| Table of contents | 5 | ||
| Preface | 9 | ||
| Acronyms | 11 | ||
| Executive summary | 13 | ||
| “Health Check” for Water Resources Allocation | 15 | ||
| Chapter 1: Re-allocating water in a water scarce world | 17 | ||
| Key messages | 18 | ||
| Growing pressures on water allocation regimes | 20 | ||
| Changing patterns of demand | 21 | ||
| Climate change impacts on freshwater | 23 | ||
| Deteriorating water quality | 25 | ||
| Water use efficiency gains and changes in rates of water consumption | 25 | ||
| Shifting social preferences | 28 | ||
| Conclusion | 30 | ||
| Notes | 30 | ||
| References | 30 | ||
| Chapter 2: A framework for water allocation | 33 | ||
| Key messages | 34 | ||
| Policy objectives of allocation regimes | 35 | ||
| Water: A resource with public and private good characteristics | 38 | ||
| Legal status of water and claims to use water | 41 | ||
| Transboundary considerations | 43 | ||
| Policy instruments and mechanisms for water allocation | 44 | ||
| Conclusion | 53 | ||
| Notes | 54 | ||
| References | 54 | ||
| Chapter 3: The current water allocation landscape | 57 | ||
| Key messages | 58 | ||
| Examining the survey results in context | 61 | ||
| Reforming water allocation regimes | 61 | ||
| General contextual information for allocation | 62 | ||
| Legal setting for water resources | 63 | ||
| Institutional setting for water resources allocation | 64 | ||
| Tracking water scarcity | 65 | ||
| Understanding the physical features of the water resource and demand profile | 65 | ||
| Current status of water system | 66 | ||
| Degree of regulation of flow rate of water resources | 66 | ||
| Consumptive use profile | 67 | ||
| Significant non-consumptive uses | 68 | ||
| Defining the available (“allocable”) water resource pool | 69 | ||
| Defining limits on water abstraction | 69 | ||
| Defining environmental flows | 70 | ||
| Factors accounted for in the definition of the available water resource pool | 71 | ||
| How users access water and how this works in practice | 72 | ||
| Legal definition of water entitlements | 72 | ||
| Nature of water entitlements | 74 | ||
| Period of time water entitlement granted for | 74 | ||
| Return flows | 75 | ||
| Consequences of non-use of water entitlements | 75 | ||
| Possibility to trade, lease or transfer water entitlements | 77 | ||
| Pre-requisites to grant new water entitlements or expand existing ones | 79 | ||
| Users not required to hold water entitlements to access water | 79 | ||
| Sequence of priority uses in water allocation | 80 | ||
| Water abstraction charges | 84 | ||
| Monitoring and enforcement of water withdrawals and allocation rules | 86 | ||
| Summary of key findings from the Survey of Water Resources Allocation | 87 | ||
| Notes | 89 | ||
| References | 89 | ||
| Chapter 4: Reforming water allocation regimes | 91 | ||
| Key messages | 92 | ||
| Why reform? Building the case for water allocation reform | 93 | ||
| Concerns about growing water scarcity and lack of water for the environment | 94 | ||
| Motives from outside of the water domain | 98 | ||
| Policy options appraisal for water allocation reform | 100 | ||
| The perceived shortcomings of the existing water allocation system strongly shapes the reform options considered | 100 | ||
| International experience frequently influences water allocation reform options considered, but leads to different conclusions in | 103 | ||
| Several factors can constrain the range of policy options considered for water allocation reform | 103 | ||
| Economic assessment has proven useful for options appraisal | 104 | ||
| The water allocation reform process | 105 | ||
| Water allocation reforms tend to be iterative processes that extend over many years, even decades | 105 | ||
| Stakeholder engagement has become common practice in water allocation reforms | 107 | ||
| Negotiating accompanying measures and finding compromises to balance divergent interests is essential | 108 | ||
| Assessment of water allocation reforms | 111 | ||
| Conclusion | 113 | ||
| Notes | 114 | ||
| References | 115 | ||
| Chapter 5: A “Health Check” forWater Resources Allocation | 117 | ||
| Key messages | 118 | ||
| System level elements of a water allocation regime | 121 | ||
| Check 1. Are there accountability mechanisms in place for the management of water allocation that are effective at a catchment or basin scale? | 121 | ||
| Check 2. Is there a clear legal status for all water resources (surface and ground water, as well as alternative sources of supply)? | 121 | ||
| Check 3. Is the availability of water resources (surface and ground water, as well as alternative sources of supply) and possible scarcity well-understood? | 122 | ||
| Check 4. Is there an abstraction limit (“cap”) that reflects in situ requirements and sustainable use? | 122 | ||
| Check 5. Is there an effective approach to enable efficient and fair management of the risk of shortage that ensures water for essential uses? | 123 | ||
| Check 6. Are there adequate arrangements in place for dealing with exceptional circumstances (such as drought or severe pollution events)? | 124 | ||
| Check 7. Is there a process for dealing with new entrants and for increasing or varying existing entitlements? | 124 | ||
| Check 8. Are there effective mechanisms for monitoring and enforcement, with clear and legally robust sanctions? | 124 | ||
| Check 9. Are water infrastructures in place to store, treat and deliver water in order for the allocation regime to function effectively? | 125 | ||
| Check 10. Is there policy coherence across sectors that affect water resources allocation? | 125 | ||
| User level elements of a water allocation regime | 125 | ||
| Check 11. Is there a clear legal definition of water entitlements? | 125 | ||
| Check 12. Are appropriate abstraction charges in place for all users that reflect the impact of the abstraction on resource availability for other users and the environment? | 126 | ||
| Check 13. Are obligations related to return flows and discharges properly specified and enforced? | 126 | ||
| Check 14. Does the system allow water users to reallocate water among themselves to improve the allocative efficiency of the regime? | 126 | ||
| Notes | 127 | ||
| References | 127 | ||
| Glossary | 129 | ||
| ANNEX A: Questionnaire for the OECD project on water resources allocation | 131 | ||
| Overview | 131 | ||
| Questionnaire overview | 132 | ||
| Part 1. General contextual information | 132 | ||
| Section 1.1. Contextual information (institutional and legal setting; information on scarcity) | 132 | ||
| Section 1.2. Recent and current reforms of allocation regimes | 133 | ||
| Part 2. Specific information on an example of an allocation regime (2-3 examples from your country, would be welcome) | 134 | ||
| Section 2.1. Background information for the example of the allocation regime | 134 | ||
| Section 2.2. How the available resource pool is defined | 135 | ||
| Section 2.3. How users access water | 137 | ||
| Section 2.4. How access to water works in practice | 139 | ||
| Section 2.5. How exceptional circumstances (e.g. unplanned events or shocks negatively impacting the resource) are managed | 140 | ||
| Section 2.6. How access is monitored and enforced | 141 | ||
| Conclusion: Other information | 141 |