Surface water allocation rules and groundwater pumping during droughts: A hydro-economic approach for the Guadalquivir River Basin

21477 6 113541 2 342682 document 113541 1-s2.0-S2214581826003071-main.pdf application/pdf cffeb993587455360a15b6db25cceabb MD5 3055294 2026-04-14 06:44:53 https://pure.iiasa.ac.at/id/eprint/21477/1/1-s2.0-S2214581826003071-main.pdf 21477 1 1 application/pdf text en public cc_by_nc_4

1-s2.0-S2214581826003071-main.pdf

published 113542 2 342688 document 113542 lightbox.jpg image/png 75ea07010108fd985b84e101265a2f75 MD5 44316 2026-04-14 06:55:00 https://pure.iiasa.ac.at/id/eprint/21477/2/lightbox.jpg 21477 2 2 image/png other Thumbnails conversion from text to thumbnail_lightbox en public

lightbox.jpg

preview.jpg

medium.jpg

small.jpg

indexcodes.txt

http://eprints.org/relation/isVersionOf https://pure.iiasa.ac.at/id/document/113541 http://eprints.org/relation/isVolatileVersionOf https://pure.iiasa.ac.at/id/document/113541 http://eprints.org/relation/isIndexCodesVersionOf https://pure.iiasa.ac.at/id/document/113541 archive 353 disk0/00/02/14/77 2026-04-14 06:46:15 2026-04-14 06:46:15 2026-04-14 06:46:15 article show Valle-García Á. Montilla-López N.M. Kahil T. 2103 0000-0002-7812-5271 Gutiérrez-Martín C. Surface water allocation rules and groundwater pumping during droughts: A hydro-economic approach for the Guadalquivir River Basin pub BNR WAT Drought, Hydro-economic modeling, Guadalquivir River Basin, Groundwater, Water allocation policy Study region This research focuses on the Guadalquivir River Basin in southern Spain, a region characterized by high agricultural water demand and increasing vulnerability to drought. The basin serves as a critical case study for semi-arid Mediterranean environments. Study focus The study evaluates the impact of three distinct water allocation rules: proportional allocation (uniform allotment reductions), proportional economic losses (equalized relative reduction in gross margins), and optimal allocation (prioritization of water-productive crops). Using a hydro-economic model, the research simulates various scarcity scenarios (10% to 70% reductions) and examines the mitigating role of groundwater reserves during periods of drought. New hydrological insights for the region The findings reveal that while proportional allocation is often perceived as equitable, it results in the most severe and uneven economic losses (16.1% at a 50% water deficit). In contrast, an optimal allocation rule minimizes aggregate losses to 12.0%. Access to groundwater significantly cushions the impact, reducing losses to approximately 5.3%–7.0%. The study highlights that traditional water-sharing rules are economically inefficient and socially inequitable, advocating for a transition toward allocation models based on economic efficiency and territorial equity to ensure water sustainability in an uncertain climate. Overall, our results provide a policy-relevant quantification of the efficiency–equity trade-offs of drought rationing and show that strategic conjunctive use can substantially increase irrigation resilience in semi-arid, agriculture-dominated basins. 2026-06 published doi:10.1016/j.ejrh.2026.103409 142 public Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies 65 e103409 1 TRUE 22145818 info:eu-repo/semantics/article