Sending Agricultural Water to the Salton Sea to Improve Public Health? An Integrated Agri-Hydro-Health Economic Analysis
Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists · 2026 · Benjamin A. Jones、Jingjing Wang、John R. Fleck
中文摘要
在全球范围内，干旱地区的许多内陆湖泊正因灌溉农业径流减少而萎缩。随着内陆湖泊收缩，干涸湖床粉尘排放造成空气质量问题，并对人类健康产生相关的负面影响。然而，政策往往将湖泊萎缩和健康问题与水资源稀缺和农业生产分开考虑。这导致低效率的结果。为解决这一问题，本文构建了一个原创的动态模型，用以研究农业部门与内陆湖泊之间的调水权衡。该模型被应用于科罗拉多河的帝国灌溉区（IID）和加利福尼亚州最大的内陆湖泊索尔顿海。结果表明，直接的水权租赁能够产生超过农业利润损失的经济收益。特别是，维持历史或更低的索尔顿海入流量将导致额外的区域健康损害，而通过水权租赁使入湖流量高于历史水平，在健康收益基础上具有经济合理性。
Abstract
Globally, many inland lakes in arid regions are shrinking due to reduced water runoff from irrigated agriculture. As inland lakes contract, playa dust emissions create air quality problems with associated negative human health effects. Yet, policy often considers lake shrinkage and health problems separate from water scarcity and agricultural production. This leads to inefficient outcomes. To address this, an original dynamic model is developed to study water transfer trade-offs between an agricultural sector and an inland lake. The model is applied to the Colorado River’s Imperial Irrigation District (IID) and the Salton Sea, the largest inland lake in California. Results indicate that direct water leasing is capable of generating economic benefits in excess of lost agricultural profit. In particular, maintaining historical or lower Salton Sea inflows would result in excess regional health damages, and generating sea inflows above historical levels through water leasing is economically supported on a health benefits basis.