Estimating the value of irrigation water in Georgia

Abstract

In 1999, the state of Georgia imposed a moratorium on the issuance of new irrigation permits in the Flint River Basin, creating scarcity with respect to both access to irrigation water and the amount of water available. A hedonic model was developed to examine the extent to which both sources of scarcity have been capitalized. Agricultural land sales from 1977-2002 in Sumter County were used to estimate the model. GIS was used to merge diverse data sets related to land sales and irrigation permits, and to generate spatial variables for analysis. Preliminary results suggest that the moratorium has induced a premium for holding a permit after the moratorium, and permit capacity is valued at $7.26 for each acre-inch/acre per day.