Fig. 3: The distribution of costs and benefits.

a–f, The distrbution was found to be sensitive to key variable inputs including scaling factor (a), annual recharge yield (b), water replacement value (c), project lifespan (d), discount rate (e) and volumetric pumping fee (f). Crucially, the scaling factor in a is a policy variable that can be adjusted by the agency to achieve the desired distribution of benefits and account for hydrologic uncertainty.