RFF on the Issues: Mandatory Policies for Managing Water Demand during Droughts

Facing severe drought conditions, officials in Cape Town, South Africa, and elsewhere in the region may want to consider the potential impacts of water restrictions on lower-income residents as they seek solutions to the current crisis.

Information Provision and Consumer Behavior: A Natural Experiment in Billing Frequency

The Challenge of Measuring Water Conservation Programs

To credibly measure the effectiveness of public policies, when feasible, pilot programs with randomized control groups should be considered and rolled out first, to facilitate reliable program evaluations—before widespread implementation.

A Cautionary Tale on Using Panel Data Estimators to Measure Program Impacts

To credibly measure the effectiveness of public policies, when feasible, pilot programs with randomized control groups should be considered and rolled out first, to facilitate reliable program evaluations—before widespread implementation.

Threatened Protection: Sea Level Rise and Coastal Protected Lands of the Eastern United States

This article examines US coastal protected lands and the potential consequences and associated reductions in ecosystem services from sea level rise in the context of current funding and adaptation planning for conservation.

What Drives the Reuse of Municipal Wastewater? A County-Level Analysis of Florida

RFF on the Issues: Effectively Managing California's Ongoing Drought

Regulators in California lifted a statewide order to cut water consumption by 25 percent earlier this year, although the drought continues. Across the state, there is widespread concern that the May action to ease the mandatory limit was premature.

Does Water Scarcity Shift the Electricity Generation Mix toward Fossil Fuels? Empirical Evidence from the United States

An analysis of the impact of water scarcity on the electricity sector in the United States demonstrates how water scarcity shifts electricity production from hydropower to natural gas, resulting in increased carbon dioxide emissions.

Does Water Scarcity Increase Carbon Emissions from the Electricity Sector?

One statistic that continues to amaze me is that the electric generation sector, overall, withdraws more water than any other sector in the United States each year—more than agriculture, more than the industrial and commercial sectors, and more than we consume as residents.

Water Conservation Policies: Prices versus Restrictions

Mandatory water restrictions can be more effective at inducing residential conservation than price increases.