 alifornians must decide what they want
to do about water transfers. California Water Transfers: An Evaluation
of the Economic Framework and A Spatial Analysis of the Potential Impacts,
a report just released by the Pacific Institute for Studies in Development,
Environment, and Security, demonstrates that water transfers can negatively
impact rural communities and their environments.
 Water transfers involve the sale
of water, through a "lease" of a water right or the transfer of
a water right itself, typically from agricultural regions to urban areas.
Citing evidence from prior transfers from around the state, the report challenges
the notion held by state officials and urban water agencies that water transfers
are economically efficient and environmentally benign solutions to statewide
water supply problems. The report is particularly timely since the CALFED
Program and several legislative bills are wrestling with the issue.
According to coauthors Santos Gomez
and Anna Steding, unrestricted water transfers could: · Discourage
water agencies from using existing supplies efficiently.
- Provide disincentives for sound water management.
- Promote urban sprawl.
- Increase groundwater overdraft.
- Adversely impact rural economies, employment, tax revenues
and public services.
According to Gomez, "extensive
data in the Institute's report indicates that some of California's poorest
agricultural counties are likely to be targeted as sources of water for
long-term water sales." At the other end of the sale, an increased
dependence on imported water moves an urban area further from sustainability.
Steding points out that, "Water
transfers may make other water management options, such as recycling and
conservation, less attractive." She notes that "water transfers
may reduce the incentive to improve the reliability of local supplies and
to link good water management with good land use planning, adding to urban
sprawl." | 
