Some economic lessons from past hydrological projects and applications to the Ebro river transfer proposal

In many arid countries water project planning has undergone significant changes over the past 20 years. This re-evaluation has been motivated by the shortcomings of the traditional 'supply' approach to water project development and the differences between the planned project outcomes and the actual results. The response has been for projects whose water was allocated and priced using the traditional methods to restructure their water allocation and pricing to accommodate changing demands for water and evolving environmental preferences. The transfers proposed under the Spanish National Hydrological Plan are compared to water projects in other arid countries.