Spot market for water along the Texas Rio Grande: Opportunities for water management

As per capita water supplies in many regions of the United States and the w orld begin to decrease, a mechanism must evolve to transfer water to where it is needed. Water markets have become increasingly popular with water man agers and state officials as a means of allocating or reallocating this res ource. Along the Rio Grande in Texas, a spot market for water has developed that is very active, with all the attributes that a well-defined market sh ould show. As a result, individuals from agriculture, municipalities, and i ndustry have begun to rely on this market as a means to supplement shortfal ls in their own supply.