Benefit-Cost Analysis of the Yakima Basin Integrated Plan Projects
December 2014
The State of Washington Capital Budget for 2013 charged the State of Washington Water Research Center to prepare separate benefit-cost analyses for each of the projects proposed in the 2012 Yakima River Basin Water Resource Management Plan. This report is in response to the legislative charge.
- Executive Summary
- Full Report
- Corrections (Updated 17 Feb 2015)
Awards
- WRC YBIP research team wins the 2016 Bruce Gardner Prize for Applied Policy Analysis from the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association. https://news.wsu.edu/2016/08/15/national-prize-honors-report-yakima-water-projects/ .
- WRC YBIP research team wins the WSU College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences Team Interdisciplinary Award for 2015. http://cahnrs.wsu.edu/html-email/email/cahnrs-news-march-2016/.
Follow-up publications
- Yoder, Jonathan, Jennifer Adam, Michael Brady, Joseph Cook, Stephen Katz, Shane Johnston, Keyvan Malek, John McMillan, and Qingqing Yang. In Press 2016. Benefit-Cost Analysis of Integrated Water Resource Management: Accounting for interdependence in the Yakima Basin Integrated Plan. Journal of the American Water Resources Association Early release: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1752-1688.12507/full
- Yoder, Jonathan, Michael Brady, and Joseph Cook. 2016. Water Markets and Storage — Substitutes or Complements for Drought Risk Mitigation? Water Economics and Policy 02, 1650005 (2016) [21 pages] DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1142/S2382624X16500053
- Criticism and response about the WRC study: Exchange between Malloch & Garrity and Yoder, The Water Report, May 2015. Full exchange (two articles and a pair of responses).
Press attention
- Stecker, Tiffany, Sept. 8 2016. Western Water: Deal could end bitter Wash. Battle, but not everyone’s happy. eenews.net.
- Prengaman, Kate. “Critics of Yakima Basin Integrated Plan say officials don’t listen.” December 27 2015. http://www.yakimaherald.com/news/local/critics-of-yakima-basin-integrated-plan-say-officials-don-t/article_94fe18c0-ad2c-11e5-a7d2-e753c244863d.html
- Bernton, Hal. “Yakima Basin farmers want more water, sooner.” Seattle Times, December 5, 2015. http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/yakima-basin-farmers-want-more-water-sooner/.
- Chasan, Daniel. “Cantwell measure allows more irrigation in return for fish, land protections.” Crosscut, November 29, 2105. http://crosscut.com/2015/11/cantwell-measure-allows-more-irrigation-in-return-for-fish-land-protections/.
- Tracy, John. “For IWRM to Succeed, It Must Be Embraced as a Social and Political Process.” American Water Resources Association President’s Column, February 6, 2015. http://awramedia.org/mainblog/2015/02/06/for-iwrm-to-succeed-it-must-be-embraced-as-a-social-and-political-process/.
- Osborn, John, and Ken Hammond. “Guest Opinion: Public Can’t Afford to Subsidize New Water Projects.” The Spokesman Review, January 4, 2015. http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2015/jan/04/guest-opinion-public-cant-afford-to-subsidize-new/?print-friendly.
- Prengaman, Kate. “WSU Report Says Water Plan Overvalues Fish Recovery.” Yakima Herald Republic, December 18, 2014. http://www.yakimaherald.com/csp/mediapool/sites/Shared/assets/csp/singleStory.csp?cid=2755687&sid=544.
- Jenkins, Don. “WSU Study: Yakima Basin Projects Don’t Pencil out.” Capital Press, December 15, 2014. http://www.capitalpress.com/Washington/20141215/wsu-study-yakima-basin-projects-dont-pencil-out.Prengaman
- Yakima Basin Integrated Plan Implementation Committee Comments on WRC report draft, posted 12/17/2014. Available at “Implementation Committee Report” under “Integrated Water Resource Management Plan — 2014 Meeting Notes and Handouts”.
- Prengaman, Kate. “WSU Study Challenges Economics of Yakima Basin Water Plan.” Yakima Herald Republic, December 4, 2014. http://www.yakimaherald.com/csp/mediapool/sites/Shared/assets/csp/singleStory.csp?cid=2691547&sid=544.
