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May 21, 2015

Webinar: June 23, 2015 – Drought and Water Markets: Water Pricing and Market Strategies for Coping with Drought Conditions

Please join us for the next installment of our 2015 webinar series, Drought and Water Markets: Water Pricing and Market Strategies for Coping with Drought Conditions  on June 23rd, 1PM Eastern Time.

Throughout the West, persistent drought conditions have increased the water supply risk to end users in all sectors of the economy.  Market approaches are providing an important tool to mitigate for the economic impacts associated with water supply shortages.  However, the long term potential for managing drought risk through market transactions is in the early stages of development.

This webinar provides an in-depth discussion on the progression of water market approaches and strategies to cope with drought conditions.  The webinar offers insights on water pricing during droughts and the influence of different market structures on trading activity.  Case studies and quantitative analyses offer insights to public and private sector water managers on how droughts are reshaping water markets in the West and how water markets can be used to address water supply risk.

Webinar Objectives:

  • You will gain an understanding of how water market pricing and trading activity have been influenced by drought.
  • You will gain insight into how institutional structure can influence the effectiveness of water markets in dealing with drought.
  • You will learn how participation in water markets can offer cost-effective solutions for addressing an uncertain water supply future.

Agenda:

I.  Drought Impact Overview and Water Supply Risk

a.  Regions with greatest economic risk and exposure

b. Market Performance and Pricing During Droughts

c. Why the economics of drought are changing – demand firming and the economic boom in agriculture; groundwater policy

II. The Use of Water Markets for Drought Management

a. Drought Emergency Strategies – Reactive Model

i. General Approach Description

1. Short Term – Stop Gap Leasing

2. Water Conservation/Buy Backs

ii. Overview of Regional Drought Emergency Programs

iii. Challenges and lessons learned with this approach

b. Long Term Drought Strategies – Proactive Model

i. General Approach Descriptions

1. Dry Year Options

2. Flexible Rotational Fallowing – Variation of Dry Year Options

3. Groundwater Banking

ii. Overview of Regional Long Term Drought Programs

iii. Challenges and considerations with this approach

III. Outlook for Drought Water Markets

Faculty:

Clay Landry, Managing Director, WestWater Research

Harry Seely, Principal, WestWater Research