Multiple Uses, Multiple Users of Water Resources

Abstract

"The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the ways in which common property water regimes may be suited to accommodate multiple uses of irrigation water. In the first section we examine different types of water uses and the critical issues associated with these uses using irrigated water as an example. Next, we discuss the existing public allocation mechanisms, trends towards formalization of water rights and the implications of these for existing water rights regimes. The next section provides an overview of various levels of rights to water resources and discusses how these bundles of rights shift according to changes in social and physical conditions. Finally, using irrigation systems as examples, we examine the potential and challenges of common property management of water resource."