I’ve frequently expressed my vision for water banking and loosely defined a Water Bank as a market mechanism to facilitate water trading. The example closest to home includes my work (3 years and running) with the Grass Valley French Ditch Company. I’ve also featured Trout Unlimited’s research on water banking to mitigate exempt wells, as well as other mentions on this topic.
Due to the location specific nature of these markets, defining these water banks and scaling these business models is a challenge at best. As such, much confusion exists around “what is a water bank?”
More confusion has arrived with the release of the NRCS Water Bank Program - a $7.5 million dollar program to keep more water on the landscape for water fowl.
As is common in many emerging markets, the language is just another challenge the water market faces.
