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Water Allocation in Rural Area: Economic Influences and Better Management...
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Water Allocation in Rural Area: Economic Influences and Better Management II

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Water Resources Management, Policy and Governance".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2021) | Viewed by 16632
We invite you to read the earlier version at: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/water/special_issues/rual_water_allocation.

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Krishna Paudel

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, Louisiana State University (LSU) and LSU Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70803-5604, USA
Interests: economics; agricultural economics; water allocation; agriculture; international development
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Limited water availability and its multiple uses indicate that there will be a challenge in determining how to allocate water among major users in future. The major users of water are the municipality, agriculture, and industry sectors. Many rural areas face both water quality and water quantity concerns, and these areas are also dependent on agriculture for livelihood. For example, crop production needs fertilizer, but fertilizer runoff can impact groundwater quality and increase treatment cost. Rural municipalities will need to provide quality water to their residents. Yet, rural municipalities are likely to face economic challenges related to building infrastructures to provide quality drinking water. Given the financial constraints of many rural municipalities, there is a need to receive support from federal and state governments in order to meet rural water quality and quantity needs. The recent incident of water quality concerns in Flint, Michigan, USA means there will be more regulations coming to rural areas which may be onerous for small rural municipalities. There are also concerns about cybersecurity, as small rural municipalities may not be able to defend water sources and wastewater treatment plants. This Special Issue of the journal Water invites papers dealing with the economics of water quality and water quantity as relevant to rural areas.

Prof. Dr. Krishna Paudel
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • water quality
  • water quantity
  • rural water infrastructure
  • water cybersecurity
  • willingness to pay/willingness to accept

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 37491 KiB  
Article
Assessing the Effect of Land-Use and Land-Cover Changes on Discharge and Sediment Yield in a Rural Coal-Mine Dominated Watershed in Kentucky, USA
by Buddhi Gyawali, Sandesh Shrestha, Aman Bhatta, Bijay Pokhrel, Richard Cristan, George Antonious, Swagata Banerjee and Krishna P. Paudel
Water 2022, 14(4), 516; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14040516 - 9 Feb 2022
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3635
Abstract
The Appalachian Mountain region of eastern Kentucky is unique and contains high proportions of forestland along with coal and natural gas depositaries. Landscape changes due to extreme mining activities can eventually threaten the downstream ecosystems, including soil and water quality, resulting in excessive [...] Read more.
The Appalachian Mountain region of eastern Kentucky is unique and contains high proportions of forestland along with coal and natural gas depositaries. Landscape changes due to extreme mining activities can eventually threaten the downstream ecosystems, including soil and water quality, resulting in excessive runoff and sedimentation. The purpose of this study is to assess the impacts of land-use and land-cover (LULC) changes in streamflow and sediment yield in Yellow Creek Watershed, Kentucky, USA, between 1992 and 2016. LULC, digital elevation model, soil, and weather data were inputted into the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to simulate discharge and sediment yield. The model output was evaluated on several statistical parameters, such as the Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency coefficient (NSE), RMSE-observations standard deviation ratio (RSR), percent bias (PBIAS), and the coefficient of determination (R2). In addition, two indices, P-factor and R-factor, were used to measure the prediction uncertainty. The calibrated model showed an increase in surface runoff and sediment yield due to changes in LULC in the Yellow Creek Watershed. The results provided important insights for studying water management strategies to make more informed land management decisions and adaptive practices. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Allocation in Rural Area: Economic Influences and Better Management II)
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22 pages, 9329 KiB  
Article
Enhancing the Resilience of the Management of Water Resources in the Agricultural Supply Chain
by Wenping Xu, Zhi Zhong, David Proverbs, Shu Xiong and Yuan Zhang
Water 2021, 13(12), 1619; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13121619 - 8 Jun 2021
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 4765
Abstract
Due to population growth and human activities, water shortages have become an increasingly serious concern in recent years. The agri-food industry is the largest water-consuming industry among all industries, and various efforts have been made to reduce the loss of water in the [...] Read more.
Due to population growth and human activities, water shortages have become an increasingly serious concern in recent years. The agri-food industry is the largest water-consuming industry among all industries, and various efforts have been made to reduce the loss of water in the agricultural supply chain. Improving the resilience of water resource management is a key measure to reduce the risks in the agricultural supply chain. This study aims to identify the factors affecting the resilience of water management in the agricultural supply chain and to help manage the risks related to water resources use. A total of 14 factors are selected from five dimensions of society, economy, environment, institution, and crop characteristics, and an index institution is constructed. This was used to determine the level and importance of each factor. Data were collected through a questionnaire survey involving 28 experts from the agricultural industry in Northwest China, as well as a thorough literature analysis and interactions with experts. Using a combination of an interpretative structural model (ISM) and an analytical network process (ANP), a hierarchical structure model was developed, composed of direct factors, indirect factors, and basic factors. The results show that the selection of agricultural products, the establishment of a water audit control institution, the recycling of wastewater, and the investment in water-saving technologies are the main factors affecting the resilience of water resources management in the agricultural supply chain. These findings provide useful guidance for practitioners involved in the management of water resources in agricultural supply chains. These results are expected to contribute to the sustainable management and strategic deployment of water by agricultural supply chain stakeholders. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Allocation in Rural Area: Economic Influences and Better Management II)
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25 pages, 1728 KiB  
Article
Multi-Criteria Hydro-Economic Decision Tool for Rejuvenating Community Irrigation Tanks in Rural India
by Nicholas Charles, Mahadev G. Bhat, Ramachandra Bhatta, Krishna M. Hegde and Ganapati V. Hegde
Water 2021, 13(11), 1594; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13111594 - 5 Jun 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3191
Abstract
Rising water scarcity in agriculture has been a major concern worldwide. As resource managers seek to address this issue, Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) has become a widely accepted sustainability paradigm. The purpose of this study is to evaluate restoration alternatives of irrigation [...] Read more.
Rising water scarcity in agriculture has been a major concern worldwide. As resource managers seek to address this issue, Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) has become a widely accepted sustainability paradigm. The purpose of this study is to evaluate restoration alternatives of irrigation tanks by applying multi-criteria and probabilistic benefit–cost analysis for a rural watershed in India. We incorporate the principles of local-IWRM, namely, hydrological balance, efficiency, equity, stakeholders’ involvement, and uncertainty. We use the mixed-method approach of data collection, including remotely sensed hydro-ecological data, walk-through field observations, focus groups, and household surveys. The study region produces a large percent of runoff water (i.e., about 67% of the total precipitation) which can be partially captured to sustain irrigation tanks. The majority of the tanks in the study area do possess moderate to high irrigation potential yet remain in poor conditions. A proposed lift irrigation scheme with a 75% or more increase in water availability could return from ₹ 1.23 to ₹ 1.73 on every Indian rupee (₹) invested, in addition to other socio-ecological benefits. The increase in water availability could lead to future crop area expansion, which comes with a high price tag. Therefore, using additional water on the existing crop area can be just as economically viable as water-induced crop expansion. A coordinated effort on the part of local agencies and water users is necessary for efficient and equitable use of incremental water that comes from any restoration efforts in the study area or elsewhere. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Allocation in Rural Area: Economic Influences and Better Management II)
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14 pages, 1064 KiB  
Article
An Evaluation of Irrigation Water Use Efficiency in Crop Production Using a Data Envelopment Analysis Approach: A Case of Louisiana, USA
by Tej K. Gautam, Krishna P. Paudel and Kurt M. Guidry
Water 2020, 12(11), 3193; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12113193 - 15 Nov 2020
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 4181
Abstract
The primary objective of this study is to estimate and evaluate the technical efficiency of irrigation water use in soybean (Glycine max L.) production in Louisiana, USA. We conducted a farm-level survey to assess information regarding irrigation cost, the volume of water [...] Read more.
The primary objective of this study is to estimate and evaluate the technical efficiency of irrigation water use in soybean (Glycine max L.) production in Louisiana, USA. We conducted a farm-level survey to assess information regarding irrigation cost, the volume of water application, and crop yield per acre during the crop year 2016. We use smoothed heterogeneous bootstrapping procedures in conventional data envelopment analysis (DEA) and supplement it with a nonradial measure of efficiency known as the Russell measure. The irrigation efficiency scores obtained from both an input- and an output-based DEA approach indicate that producers are over-applying irrigation water by approximately 37 percent. The results provide evidence that an improvement in water management practices can optimize irrigation efficiency, leading to higher profits for the farmers by lowering the other input prices in the production process. The findings should provide a benchmarking tool to formulate an appropriate irrigation policy that enhances water conservation in crop production in regions with similar environmental conditions and soil characteristics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Allocation in Rural Area: Economic Influences and Better Management II)
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