Institutions and conjunctive water management among three western states

Conjunctive water management involves the coordinated use of ground and sur face water supplies. It aims to enhance overall water supplies and guard ag ainst drought. In this article, we consider how water governance institutio ns affect the implementation of conjunctive management. To explain this con nection, we present data from a study of conjunctive management in Arizona, California, and Colorado. We discuss how the institutional arrangements ac ross these three states impact the transaction costs and other factors asso ciated with conjunctive management and suggest how different institutional arrangements facilitate or impede conjunctive management.