The evolution of water resource management systems: Case studies of the Tampa Bay region of Florida and Baton Rouge area of Louisiana

A comparative case study traced the evolution of groundwater resource management systems (RMSs) of the Tampa Bay region of Florida and the Baton Rouge area of Louisiana. Research indicated that Tampa Bay's RMS evolved through four distinct stages: open access (anyone could exploit the resource without regulation), 1883--1930; Private managed (individual municipalities and/or private companies set their own rules for resource use), 1930--1973; state managed (regulation of resource use by state and/or federal government), 1973--1994; and common pool (regional cooperative management of the resource by users), 1994 to 2000. Baton Rouge experienced the open access, 1846--1888; private managed, 1888--1970; and state managed RMS types, 1970--2000. Tampa Bay therefore experienced three RMS transitions, while Baton Rouge experienced two. The cases were evaluated to determine how and why transitions occurred between RMS types. Seven factors associated with transitions were identified. These factors were increased population growth, increased water usage, impacts to water quality or the environment, water rights disputes, improved knowledge of hydrology of the area, a social and political environment which favored change, and individual initiative taken to effect change. For the transitions from open access RMS to private managed RMS, the first three factors were present. For the transitions from private managed to state managed RMS, and from state managed to common pool RMS, all seven factors were present. Therefore, this study suggests a cause and effect relationship between these factors and RMS evolution. This report constitutes a guide for water resource planners and civic leaders with problems similar to those in Tampa Bay and Baton Rouge. It advances theory in the fields of urban and natural resource planning and management, natural resource economics, and institutional change, and enhances knowledge in the fields of civil and environmental engineering, and ecology. It offers practical methods for policymakers to gauge the viability of an existing water RMS and to decide whether to maintain it or make a transition to another institutional arrangement.