Agricultural Salinity Pollution California

The research utilizes a scalable decision support model to evaluate 64 combinations of policy interventions, including fees and water use restrictions, to address salinity pollution in the San Joaquin River. Findings indicate that while surface water restrictions increase salinity loads due to higher groundwater reliance, the implementation of fees for imported water and market-based pollution permits can help farmers maintain profitability and lower salinity levels.

• The study evaluated 64 different policy intervention combinations involving fees and water use restrictions. Although all scenarios resulted in lower net revenues compared to the base case, no scenario produced negative net revenues because subareas could adapt by fallowing land, increasing groundwater use, or switching to high-revenue crops.
• Restrictions on surface water lead to an increase in salinity loads because farmers increase their use of groundwater. Conversely, charging fees for imported water is identified as a policy that can help farmers keep salinity loads lower while remaining profitable.
• In scenarios with highly restrictive surface water availability, collaborative market-based arrangements, such as the buying and selling of pollution permits, can enable farmers to maintain their revenue levels.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2022). Agricultural Salinity Pollution California. https://www.sei.org/publications/agricultural-salinity-pollution-california/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Agricultural Salinity Pollution California. 2022. https://www.sei.org/publications/agricultural-salinity-pollution-california/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Agricultural Salinity Pollution California |date=16 June 2022 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/agricultural-salinity-pollution-california/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2022agricultural, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Agricultural Salinity Pollution California}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2022}, month = jun, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/agricultural-salinity-pollution-california/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }