TWRI grant recipient studies water scarcity in Texas
By Kari Miller
Texas A&M University international graduate student Yongxia Cai is working with her advising professor Dr. Bruce McCarl from the Department of Agricultural Economics to develop an effective water model to evaluate the impact of inter-basin water transfers in Texas.
Cai, originally from China and a recipient of a $5,000 2006-2007 Texas Water Resources Institute (TWRI) research grant, said that water scarcity is a problem in Texas because of rapid population growth, economic development, global warming and water pollution.
“To address the water scarcity problem, one of the water supply enhancement strategies is inter-basin water transfer (IBT), shifting water from surplus to deficit regions,” Cai said.
However, in Cai’s final report she said water transfers can have negative impacts on the environment, and there is no comprehensive evaluation methodology proposed for them. The Texas water models have limitations that affect their usefulness in evaluating these transfers.
Cai’s research focused on building a statewide model integrating economic, hydrologic and environmental components. This model will be used to examine Texas water scarcity issues and socially optimal water allocation along with effects of inter-basin water transfers.
“Using this model, we examined the economic efficiency of optimal water allocation and water scarcity issue, and developed an inter-basin water transfer evaluation system that integrates the effects of the proposed water transfer on the economic, hydrologic and environment factors in Texas,” Cai said.
According to her final report, Cai said her model covers 21 river basins, unlike previous models that cover only one or two. The data from this project will go to state agencies, water management authorities and regional water planning groups.
“The model yields information on economic implications for municipal, industrial and agricultural water users by basin,” said Cai. “Such information can support effective public water policy making for state agencies, water management authorities and regional water planning groups. It can help them to devise appropriate compensation rules for origin basin and loss of in-stream uses.”
Cai said she hopes to become a professor or researcher in water resource economics, using skills that she learned from this project.
Her research was funded by TWRI through the U.S. Geological Survey as part of the National Institutes for Water Research annual research program. TWRI is the designated institute for water resources research in Texas.
For more information on Cai’s research, visit USGS Research Grants.