ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF WATER-QUALITY PROTECTION POLICIES .1. FRAMEWORK FOR REGIONAL-ANALYSIS

Agricultural production systems provide some unique challenges for assessing the regional impacts of water quality protection policies. A modeling framework is proposed for assessing the environmental and economic consequences of groundwater quality protection policies at the regional level. The model consists of three components: (1) a crop simulation/chemical transport model, (2) a regional economic optimization model, and (3) an aquifer groundwater flow model. The three submodels are linked and run recursively to simulate producer response to alternative water quality policies over a multiple-year time horizon. Model solutions provide projections of production practices employed on various resource situations across the region. Economic evaluation of alternative policies may he based upon regional agricultural income, crop production levels, input use, and changes in aquifer water levels over time. Measures of agricultural nonpoint source pollution provided by the model include nitrate, phosphorus and pesticide loadings in deep percolation and runoff water, as well as sediment losses.