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Environmental Policy Program devises Georgia's first water auction

Andrew Young School economists worked with state officials to devise the water allocation program, which allows farmers with surface-water irrigation permits to bid a per-acre price for removing land from irrigation. A March auction drew bids ranging from $135 to $200 per acre, officials said. The resulting 33,000 dry acres will save about 130 million gallons of water per day.

The auction meant farmers could set their own prices rather than receiving a state-mandated amount, said Susan Laury, assistant professor of economics in the Andrew Young School's Environmental Policy Program.

Laury, along with Environmental Policy Program Director Ron Cummings and other staffers, designed and helped administer the auction, and organized the eight sites where the bidding took place.

"Considering that nothing like this had ever been done in this country before, I believe the auction was a great success," said Harold F. Reheis, director of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

The auction was a project of both the Environmental Policy Program and the fledgling Flint River Regional Water Planning and Policy Center, established last year by the Andrew Young School and Albany State University. The center is designed to address water-allocation issues and educate students on ways to identify fair policy solutions.

The center gives south Georgia farmers and other stakeholders a vehicle to discuss water allocation issues with water negotiators and legislative leaders, said center Director Jerry Usry.

"Georgia's first water auction was tangible evidence of how our efforts can help the state," he said.

The Flint River watershed's lower basin is Georgia's breadbasket, where food and fiber production and processing have a multibillion-dollar impact. For years, the region's dwindling water resources have been at the forefront of debate between officials in Georgia, Florida and Alabama.