Water conservation and development projects in saskatchewan: An economic evaluation

Abstract

In parts of Saskatchewan, with higher levels of precipitation, waterlogging is a common problem, which has been recognized by Saskatchewan policy-makers by passing the Saskatchewan Conservation and Development Act in 1949. Projects under this Act are supported by both public and private funds. An evaluation of these projects is needed to show their effectiveness both to policy-makers and to the public at large. Such analysis should encompass both social and private impacts resulting from these projects. Ten water control projects were examined in this study, involving three types of activities: agricultural drainage, flood control along with agricultural drainage, and backflood irrigation using water from agricultural drainage. Economic evaluation included both economic efficiency analysis and regional development benefits. All ten projects passed the economic efficiency test, since the benefit-cost ratio ranged from 1.3 to 4.4. All projects also created regional development benefits, since these projects contributed on average in the local region 10.74 times the income for every dollar invested. Some projects created environmental issues, but such impacts were not included in this study because of lack of data. In general, projects that provided benefits beyond the dryland agricultural activities (flood control and backflood irrigation) were found to be superior on both economic efficiency and regional development benefits criteria. © 2003 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.