Economic adjustments to groundwater depletion in the High Plains: do water-saving irrigation systems save water?

Abstract

A common policy prescription for conserving irrigation water is to promote more efficient or “water-saving” irrigation technologies. We develop a risk programming model to quantify the effect of irrigation efficiency on irrigation water use in the High Plains, taking account of irrigation timing and well capacity limits. We find that optimal irrigation does not respond monotonically to changes in efficiency, although intermediate and high efficiency systems both result in less water use than an inefficient flood system.