Irrigation organizations use a variety of methods to price water

Irrigation organizations operate and maintain infrastructure to store and deliver water to irrigated farms and ranches. To fund their operations, organizations generally charge their constituents for water deliveries. Pricing usually takes one of three forms: volumetric pricing, per acre assessments/taxes, and a combination of the two. Volumetric pricing is based on the volume of water delivered, generally in dollars per acre foot. Per acre assessments/taxes are based on the number of acres irrigated. Finally, organizations may use a combination of volumetric prices and per-acre assessments/taxes. The method used is important for organization operations and revenues, as well as broader water conservation objectives. For instance, volumetric pricing may encourage on-farm water conservation because farmers and ranchers pay for each unit of irrigation water applied. The most common method for pricing water deliveries is a per acre assessment/tax. In 2019, 44 percent of organizations (covering 35 percent of total irrigated land and 34 percent of water inflows) charged for water deliveries with a per acre assessment/tax and did not use volumetric pricing. Twenty-one percent of organizations (covering 24 percent of total irrigated land and 28 percent of water inflows) relied exclusively on volumetric pricing, and 24 percent of organizations (covering 38 percent of total irrigated land and 34 percent of water inflows) used a mix of the two pricing strategies. Some irrigation organizations (12 percent), such as acequias (communal irrigation ditches), might not have generated revenue but instead relied on constituent labor to maintain and operate the organization’s infrastructure. This chart appears in the USDA, Economic Research Service report Irrigation Organizations: Water Measurement and Pricing, published in February 2025.