The Economic Efficiency of Inter-Basin Agricultural Water Transfers in Utah: A Mathematical Programming Approach
Abstract : The economic efficiency of water development in Utah, including transfer systems, has seldom been examined, nor has the costs of public policies which result in deviations from efficient allocations. In order that public officials be better informed about water allocations, the present effort examines the efficient allocation of water in time frames up to 2020 under several alternative assumptions and calculates the cost of alternative policies.
Optimization of Water Allocation, Wastewater Treatment, and Reuse Considering Nonlinear Costs, Seasonal Variations, and Stochastic Supplies
Two significant, interrelated water resources problems are: (1) efficiently salvaging and reusing effluent water in order to augment limited water supplies; and (2) economically managing and treating wastewater to meet water quality standards. Using systems engineering and operations research techniques, the report focuses on the optimal management and use of water of imparied quality in a water resources system, including utilization or irrigation return flows and other poor quality water, water quantity and quality management systems, and wastewater reclamation opportunities. The study develops a mathematical programming transportation or transhipment model formulated for the Lower Jordan River Basin in Utah. The model incorporated all "possible" water resources (including sequential and recycled reuse of water) to supply spatially separated multi-sector water users considering non-linear costs with economies of scale for water supply and wastewater treatment, temporal aspects of seasonality and stochastic nature of water supply and demand, and the system effects of higher wastewater treatment levels. The results of the model runs give specific allocations of water from the available sources to meet use sector requirements over a planning horizon from 1975 to 2020. The total minimum cost of water supply and wastewater treatment allocation is reduced by considering seasonality of water requirements. Stochasticity of supply and water treatment requirements increase total allocation costs. The comparison of results from the model can be used to analyze the interdependence of water supply, water pollution control, options for water salvage and reuse in order to better plan public investment in water and wastewater management facilities. Bishop. A. B., R. Narayanan, S. Pratishthananda, S. Klemetson, and W. J. Grenney, 1975. Optimization of water allocation, wastewater treatment, and reuse considering non-linear costs, seasonal variations, and stochastic supplies. Utah Water Research Laboratory Publication PRWG123-2, Utah State University, Logan, Utah.
To What Extent Can English-as-a-Second Language Learners Read Economic News Texts?
In decision making in the economic field, an especially important requirement is to rapidly understand news to absorb ever-changing economic situations. Given that most economic news is written in English, the ability to read such information without waiting for a translation is particularly valuable in economics in contrast to other fields. In consideration of this issue, this research investigated the extent to which non-native English speakers are able to read economic news to make decisions accordingly – an issue that has been rarely addressed in previous studies. Using an existing standard dataset as training data, we created a classifier that automatically evaluates the readability of text with high accuracy for English learners. Our assessment of the readability of an economic news corpus revealed that most news texts can be read by intermediate English learners. We also found that in some cases, readability varies considerably depending on the knowledge of certain words specific to the economic field.