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Rodney T. Smith
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| Industry: |
Water Resource Consulting |
| Born: |
June 23, 1948, Fresno, California |
| Type of Organization: |
Consulting Firm |
| Major Product: |
Economics and strategic planning consulting firm specializing in the economics, finance, law and politics of water resources |
| Area of Distribution: |
International |
| Expertise: |
Dr. Smith has over 35 years experience. He is a consulting economist for the company and runs a unique blog called "Hydrowonk." He is responsible for overall operations specializing in water policy, financing water resources finance law and the politics of water resources. Dr. Smith is a managing member of Strategic Water Management LLC, manager of private investment entities for water resources, President of Baja Norte Water Resources, LLC, a project developer of bi-national water projects, and Co-Manager of Northern California Water Partners LLC, a group developing private-public partnerships for infrastructure financing of water projects. He is also a founding member of Professionals for Water Supply Reliability, a non-profit voluntary association of professionals concerned about the water supply reliability in California. He is involved as an advisor in the acquisition of water rights throughout the western U.S. and in the sale and leasing of water rights and water supplies to public and private sector water users. Dr. Smith is also President/CEO of Baja Norte Water Resources, LLC, a Mexican-based, affiliated entity Baja Infrastructure Resources S. de R.L. de C.V involved in bi-national water management and infrastructure projects. Concurrently, he is also a Co-Managing Member of Northern California Water Partners, LLC which is involved in developing private-public partnerships for water infrastructure investments. |
| University/Degree: |
B.A., Economics, University of California at Los Angeles; Ph.D., Economics, University of Chicago, 1976 |
| Title: |
President |
| Work History: |
Dr. Smith has consulted extensively for public and private sector clients, including high net worth investors, on business and public policy issues concerning water resources, including California’s Drought Water Bank, the government of New South Wales, Australia’s effort to privatize irrigation organizations, and the economic, financial, legal, and political dimensions of water transactions in many western states. He worked on the IID/San Diego County Water Authority Agreement, the settlement of Colorado River disputes on behalf of the Imperial Irrigation District, and the acquisition of 42,000 acres from the U.S. Filter Corporation, a unit of Veolia Environment. He is routinely involved in economic valuation of water rights, water investments, and negotiation of water acquisition and transportation agreements. He has also served as an expert witness in the economic valuation of groundwater resources, disputes over the economic interpretation of water contracts, economics of water conservation and water use practices, and the socio-economic impacts of land fallowing. Dr. Smith has served as a consultant to a major new water transfer study by the Western Governors’ Association and the Western States Water Council. In 1989, he was the John M. Olin Visiting Professor of Law and Economics at Columbia Law School. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, he was also a visiting assistant professor of economics at the Graduate School of Business, University of Chicago, where he also served as the Associate Director of the Center for the Study of the Economy and the State. He started his career after graduate school as an economist at the RAND Corporation. |
| Published Works: |
Books, "Troubled Waters: Financing Water in the West" and "Trading Water: A Legal Framework for Water Marketing" |
| Affiliations: |
Board of Visitors, School of Politics and Economics, Claremont Graduate University; Board, Reed Institute of Decision Sciences, Claremont McKenna College; Managing Member, Aquasair, LLC |
| Career Accomplishments: |
Dr. Smith enjoys blogging, especially regarding prediction markets within the water industry. He was recently retained by the San Diego County Water Authority to analyze the proposed Bay Delta Conservation Plan and forecast its future. |
| Hobbies & Sports: |
Golf, guitar |
