Economics in Water Resources, Research Paper Example

There have been problems with the management of the river system. This has led to problems such as pollution in the river. The pollution is caused by the irresponsible disposal of wastes by the power manufacturing companies in this area. The pollution has resulted into death for the fish and other aquatic organisms further compromising the economic activity of fishing. This has brought poverty to those families who relied on fishing for economic survival. The pollution has brought a loss in the traditional diets. People now rely more on manufactured foods unlike the previous reliance on the traditional foods. This has brought a problem I people’s health significantly. This has further affected the cultural practices. Roles are no longer defined as they used to be in the past. It is indeed difficult to tell who in the family should be concerned about a given responsibility. The loss of fisheries has affected the locals greatly. This was an important source of food and money for them in the past. Currently majority of them are suffering great consequences of drought and famine (National Academies Press U.S., 2008).

The poor quality of river water has continued to be an injustice to the people living in the regions above. This has made them suffer from disease outbreaks due to dirty and polluted water. The quality of water should be restored. This may be done through cleaning of the river as well as legislating against offenders who dump irresponsibly. These offenders should be made to pay a fine.

There has also been toxicity of water due to the disposal of agricultural chemicals in the rivers. This has resulted to death of fish and problems to the people. There should be regulations regarding dumping of wastes in this river valley. The locals should not be allowed to dump wastes as they wish since this brings problems to the locals. The factories should be discouraged from dumping wastes irresponsibility as this will bring issues to the environment. Legal actions should be taken for people who are found dumping wastes irresponsibly.

It is also important that fishing be restored through the cleaning of the river. This will allow the river to be able to inhabit fish and other aquatic organisms. The river needs to be thoroughly cleaned. All stakeholders concerned must ensure this is done with immediate effect so that the water is safe both for consumption and fit for survival of fish.

There should be increased a forestation in the area. It deals with the planting of trees to replace those that have already been cut down. This will help in restoring the habitat that was once the home of numerous types of wildlife. In addition, the locals will continue to benefit from employment opportunities and the agricultural production.

At the same time, the government should channel more funds into restoring the water catchment area. The government should ensure that the water is treated before it reaches downstream. This way, diseases and epidemics will be avoided.

There should also be the restoration of culture among the tribes. This will brings sanity to the systems of administration starting from the family, which is the basic unit. This will make the inhabitants more responsible. A responsible society is highly defined by its systems of life and culture.

The dams constructed along the river basin should be removed. This should be done in order to allow plenty of water to flow downstream. The construction of the dam posed as a major challenge since volume of water greatly reduced. This also affected fishing in the region a great deal. The removal of the dams should thus be made paramount so as to take care of the needs of the locals.

Water trading involves the transfer of rights of entitlement to water sources to other individuals. The sale of the rights of the river will enable its cleaning by developers concerned about its safety and restoration. This will restore the water catchment area. The water shall also be fit for human consumption.

Low volume of water has also been experienced in the Klamath area basin. This is particularly due to the construction of four dams that consume a considerable volume of the river’s water. This is a concern since a low volume of water is a threat to the fish and other aquatic organisms, which live in it (Miller, Vandome and McBrewster 2009).

Another externality experienced is pollution. The mining and agricultural practices explain this phenomenon wholly. Agricultural chemicals released in the river cause toxicity to the water. This successfully threatens the aquatic organisms present such as fish. The pollution also pollutes the water downstream such that people living in these areas have a really hard time searching for clean water. The polluted river water may also compromise on their health.

One of the impediments to the successful implementation of the above procedures is insufficiency of funds. The program of reclaiming the Klamath River Basin is expensive. Expensive equipment and technology is required for this to be achieved, and this brings issues to the system.

Another impediment is the lack of technological expertise to drive the procedures above to completion. The technology is not readily available owing to its high cost of purchase and installation. This has made little to be done over the years (General Books LLC 2010).

The locals are also ignorant and not knowledgeable. Most of the locals fail to understand that in order to implement the reclamation procedures fully, it has to start with them. They are the main masterminds of pollution and dumping of wastes in the river. These people thus fail to support the efforts by various stakeholders making the process unsuccessful.

The other reason why these procedures have not been implemented is due to lack of clear legislations and laws regarding waste disposal. There should be stringent measures to enact laws that pertain to the dumping of wastes. These laws should be enough to prosecute anyone who violates them. Fines or imprisonment should be imposed on all offenders.

Works cited

General Books LLC Klamath River: Klamath River, Klamath Basin, Shasta River, Klamath Diversion, Sprague River, Upper Klamath Lake, Klamath National Forest General Books LLC, 2010

Miller, Frederic P., Agnes F. Vandome and John McBrewster. Klamath River, Alphascript Publishing, 2009.

National Academies Press (U.S.) National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on Hydrology, Ecology, and Fishes of the Klamath River, Hydrology, Ecology, and Fishes of the Klamath River Basin National Academies Press, 2008

Klamath River Basin Conservation Area Restoration Program: Limited Assurance United States. Government Accountability Office Regarding the Federal Funding Requirements: Report on Congressional Requesters DIANE Publishing, 2005