Aspetti normativi ed economici in materia di gestione e tutela delle risorse idriche ad uso irriguo in Piemonte

Abstract The analysis of the economic aspects of irrigation in Piedmont is justified by the adoption of a new regional legislation receiving the EU 60/2000 Directive. The recent legislative framework about water resources management involves particularly the Reclamation and Irrigation Boards. The adoption of the new regional Piedmont Water Protection Plan imposes water-saving measures and suggests the building of medium large dams in case of relevant -at basin level- irrigous water deficits. The main topic of the paper is the extimation -in a set of farm case-studies- of the cost of use of water in farms as component of total costs of rice production, in terms of supply of irrigation and its management. The results of the economic analysis should represent a tool both for policy makers and water users (stakeholders).