California cities pay far more for water on average than districts that supply farms — with some urban water agencies shelling out more than $2,500 per acre-foot of surface water, and some irrigation districts paying nothing, according to new research. A report published today by researchers with the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability and advocates with the Natural Resources Defense Council shines a light on vast disparities in the price of water across California, Arizona and Nevada. … Their overarching conclusion: One of the West’s most valuable resources has no consistent valuation – and sometimes costs nothing at all. 

Related article:

• National Resources Defense Council: Report: Rethinking the price of water in the West​