Public perceptions of water transfers and markets: Describing differences in water use communities

Water transfers and water markets have become the principal policy mechanisms for reallocating wafer resources to areas of greatest demand in the western United States. Comparisons and contrasts between our two study areas-the Grand Valley of western Colorado and the San Joaquin Valley portion of Kern County, California-suggest that the ability to implement reforms in regional water utilization patterns is influenced by specific social and historical contexts within which local populations define and utilize scarce water resources. Consistent with previous literature, the current research found that residents of a water-exporting area were more likely to oppose water transfers than were residents of a water-importing area. Regardless of local context, however, residents in these two distinct areas of the West had strong reservations about free markers as a means of allocating water.