Water tariff model for irrigation in Antinaco - Los Colorados valley, Argentina

Abstract

Agriculture carried out in arid regions demands greater amounts of water and its inefficient use affects the potential recovery of the ecosystem. In Argentina, water is considered a public good; that means that, for private purposes, permission from provincial authorities must be required, ruling out negotiations in water markets. Antinaco - Los Colorados valley, located in the center west of the province of La Rioja (Argentina), is a region of great agricultural importance in the province and with significant water scarcity. The current system of irrigation service tariff has fixed prices; based on the area of agricultural land, a fixed amount is charged per hectare per year. This makes it difficult to use it as a tool to reduce excessive water consumption, discourage inappropriate irrigation strategies or avoid pollution generated in the agricultural sector. However, water tariff system may be proposed with the aim at both encouraging the preservation of the resource and considering environmental, technological, and cultural variables. Based on the document evaluation, statistical data, input from specialists, records of visits to the farms - considering the Polluter Pays Principle - the irrigation rates charged to agricultural farmers in Antinaco - Los Colorados valley were examined; the following results were obtained: 1^st) the legal framework for water at national and provincial level; 2^nd) the mathematical equation of the current irrigation rate; and 3^rd) the proposal of a model of water irrigation tariffs for agricultural farmers in the valley.