The Evolution of Water Resource Planning and Decision Making

About this book

This broad review of the development of US water resource policy analysis and practice offers perspectives from several disciplines: law, economics, engineering, ecology and political science. While the historical context provided goes back to the early 19th century, the book concentrates on the past sixty years and features a discussion of the difficulty that has generally been encountered in bringing the disciplines of economics and ecology into collaboration in the water resource context.

The book explores the evolution of water related analytical capabilities and institutions and provides illustrations from case studies, concluding with recommendations for research, institutional change and action. Though designed to be a background textbook for interdisciplinary graduate seminars in water resources planning and management, it is accessible to interested lay readers and those who have policymaking or implementation responsibility but lack a technical background.

Contents

Contents: Foreword Preface 1. Water-Resources Planning: Past, Present and Future John J. Boland and Duane Baumann 2. A History of the United States Water-Resources Planning and Development Warren Viessman, Jr. Appendix 2-1. Evolution of Public Involvement in Water Planning Jerome Delli Priscoli Appendix 2-2. Nebraska Natural Resource Districts 3. The Theory and Practice of Benefit-Cost Analysis John J. Boland, Nicholas Flores and Charles W. Howe 4. Environmental Issues and Options in Water-Resources Planning and Decision Making David H. Moreau and Daniel P. Loucks 5. On the Collaboration of Ecologists and Economists Clifford Russell and Mark Sagoff 6. Political Decision Making: Real Decisions in Real Political Contexts Peter Rogers, Lawrence MacDonnell and Peter Lydon Appendix 6-1. Overview of American Law for Allocation of Water 7. Making the Transition: Moving Water-Resources Planning and Management into the Twenty-first Century Gerald E. Galloway Index

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