The Public Role of Engineering: The California State Water Project
This article has a reply.
VIEW THE REPLYPublication: Engineering Issues: Journal of Professional Activities
Volume 99, Issue 1
Abstract
Among the mistakes leading to an excessively favorable evaluation of the California State Water Project were use of an extremely low discount rate, failure to reduce demand estimates in the face of higher prices, failure to take additional sources of supply into account, and the inappropriate use of the next cheapest alternative method of estimating the benefit of water deliveries. The California Department of Water Resources and various independent consultants compounded the problem by presenting their evaluations and conclusions in deceptive and confusing ways. Excessive disdain for economic analysis applied to project evaluation, and institutional pressures account for much of the problem. Suggested solutions include better evaluation standards, more professional discipline, and better staffing and procedures for legislative consideration of technological questions.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Engineering Issues: Journal of Professional Activities
Volume 99 • Issue 1 • January 1973
Pages: 19 - 38
Copyright
© 1973 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Published in print: Jan 1973
Published online: Feb 10, 2021
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Business management
- Construction engineering
- Construction management
- Consulting services
- Contracts and subcontracts
- Political factors
- Practice and Profession
- Pricing
- Professional services
- Project management
- Public administration
- Public opinion and participation
- Water and water resources
- Water demand
- Water management
- Water policy
- Water resources
- Water supply
- Water use
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.