Linear programming and regional input-output models were applied to estimate the impacts of increased pumping costs for irrigated agriculture due to groundwater depletion principally caused by the expanding urban area of San Antonio, Texas. A biophysical simulator was use to estimate linear...

This paper examines the optimal allocation of several inputs in the context of seawater desalination by reverse osmosis (RO) as a source of municipal (or commercial or industrial) water. A cost-minimization model is developed, a production function is estimated, and sensitivity analyses are...

Two primary potable water-treatment technologies used in South Texas include conventional surface-water and reverse-osmosis (RO) desalination of brackish-groundwater. As the region's population continues to grow, municipalities are searching for economical means to expand their water supplies....

Economic losses caused by uncontrolled pumping of groundwater is of major concern on the Texas High Plains. A recursive linear programming model is used to evaluate various annual limitations on aquifer depletion. Results indicate that, especially under furrow irrigation, some limitations on...

A regional field crop and national livestock econometric model (TECHSIM) is used to examine the impacts of diverting plant oils (cottonseed oil and soybean oil) to use as a diesel fuel replacement. Two scenarios which represented a five and ten percent replacement of agriculture's diesel fuel...

The Rio Grande has headwaters in Colorado, flows through New Mexico, and serves as the United States.–Mexico border in Texas, emptying into the Gulf of Mexico. Snow melt in Colorado and northern New Mexico constitutes the water river supply for New Mexico and the El Paso region, whereas...

Arundo donax is a large, invasive weed consuming large quantities of water in the riparian area of the Texas Rio Grande Basin. With water availability a concern to the area, the USDA-ARS is investigating biological control agents to increase available water, creating a benefit to both the...