Benefit-cost model for an artificial recharge scenario in the San Joaquin Valley, California

A competitive irrigated agriculture in the San Joaquin Valley of California, under semiarid to arid climate and repetitive drought conditions, relies on groundwater resources to a great extent. As a result of rapid agricultural development and intense operation of ground water resources over the years, the Valley has been exposed to severe land subsidence and pesticide and fertilizer induced ground water contamination problems. In this paper, based on historical drought recurrences in the region, a model of aridity quantification and climatic scenario for the period 2000-2030 is described. Moreover, a schematic economics model is set up to analyze the potential benefits from artificially recharging the underlying aquifer nearby the San Joaquin River, as compared to the ongoing management plans in the Valley. The approach presented in this paper is based on cost assessment simulation and employs weighting coefficients instead of marketing prices. For the climatic scenario considered in this paper, the comparative benefit-cost analysis reveals significant benefits from artificially recharging the aquifer adjacent to the San Joaquin River.