Water Allocation, Transfers and Conservation: Links between Policy and Hydrology

As the demand for water for agricultural, urban, industrial and environmental uses increases, it will be necessary to better understand the interaction between hydrology and the institutions that will govern water use. Water transfers are considered one of the primary tools for coping with increased water demand. This paper examines several key issues and demonstrates potential pitfalls that must be addressed when designing water transfer policy. An important result is that to be effective, water transfer policy must account for basin hydrology.