如果有一項大型的水資源開發工程被建議在你所住的地區內實施，下列提問將會揭示出可能的問題會出在何處，還可以幫助你成為專案規劃的積極參與者。如果你自己的團體無法從內部評估這些資訊，有些問題可能會需要你尋求專家的外部協助 -- 例如，經濟學家可以幫你評估專案的經濟狀況，而水文學專家或生態學家則可以回答開發對於河流的衝擊性等相關問題。
下列問題並非都適用於所有的專案。這些問題是從一本名?《就水資源專案提出問題》的實用手冊中，摘錄改寫而成。該手冊的作者是Gerald Meral，美國加州水資源部的前副主任。Meral博士寫道：「確認專案效益的能力和科學技術，已經達到相當成熟的地步，而且極少的專案優勢條件會被忽略。但是水資源專案贊助公司的樂觀熱忱，卻常常導致他們忽視潛在的負面影響。設計出這樣一些問題的目的，就是要將事先無法確定的問題或代價，揭示出來。」
專案內容的說明
▲是否對整個專案進行了說明？專案中的未來增建部分是否已包括在裏面？
▲專案的具體時程安排為何？
▲有關公共參與的計劃為何？
▲專案的目標是否按照它應當滿足的需求來進行適當敘述，而不是依其建造特徵？例如，一個恰當的目標敘述應是這樣的：「發展以能源供應來滿足能源需求的計畫。」如此敘述為其它可能出現的計畫替代方案，提供一種更好的分析方式，比起一個其目標?「建造能?生500兆瓦電力的水壩」的專案要好。
專案的經濟狀況
▲專案計劃中所提的時程，是否能夠反映出該地區的真實狀況？（如果執行專案時間延期，或是建造過程的時間比預料的還長，專案的實際利益可能就可以不被考慮。）
▲最終成本是否將專案的各項費用的實際通貨膨脹也算了進去？
▲貸款利率是否與債券銷售或貸款時可能的利率相一致？
▲是否已將專案的各項移民措施花費，充分而公正地計算在成本以內？總成本應當包括開發、運營、維護等各方面，以及水壩除役可能的花費成本。
▲專案的經濟分析，是否充分而公正地將環境和社會各個方面的成本與收益，計算在內？（例如，附有大型水庫的水電站水壩，在乾旱的氣候條件下會蒸發大量的水。如此損失掉的水的價值，是否適當地計算在內了？）應當考慮以下往往不被計算在總成本內的各項成本：
－當地的失業狀況（農業、漁業、娛樂業以及旅遊業等方面的工作）；
－重新安家落戶的全部成本，包括那些幫助人們重建生計的資金；
－自然生態系統功能喪失而引起的經濟價值損失。這些功能包含諸如沼地具有淨化水的價值，森林和熱帶大草原具有控制侵蝕、補充地下水等益處。
▲那些補助金（津貼）應當包括進去？例如，大公司是否應當得到電力補助金？是否將對專案的任一部分免征任何稅收？專案的電力供應部門是否將會給予諸如供水部門或導航部門等其他部門適當補貼？
▲水電分配成本是否計入了專案成本（例如輸電線路和配水系統）？
▲人類生活用水是否需要進行處理？這些成本有沒有計算在內？
風險和不確定因素
▲對於電或水的人均需求的預測，是否也已包括在內？這些預測是否反映出，對於一個積極進取的自然資源保護專案的全面參與責任？這些預測是否是最新近的？它們是否解釋清楚了所有可能會影響（水和電）需求的各種最近發生的變化（諸如經濟衰退降低人們對電的需求，或者該地區的人口成長率下降）？
▲在專案成本估算中，是否充分考慮到，因以下不可預見問題而引發的偶然事件：因罷工、惡劣天氣、意料不到的施工條件（例如開挖隧道條件非常惡劣，或對地震危險進行重新評價）、返工、法律訴訟、運行期間發生旱災、意外事故、市民的反對或政治動亂等等，而造成專案的延誤？
▲所作的分析是否比較了所提議專案的風險與其他替代方案的風險？
▲是否簽定了專案用電和用水的合同？
▲如果是灌溉工程：需要用水的是不是有良好排水能力的良田沃土（因?灌溉排水能力差的土地不用多長時間就會造成鹽鹼化的問題）？灌溉地區生長的農作物的銷售前景是否能夠維持農業對用水的支付能力？此類農作物是否已經有了補助金？
▲節電或其他因素會大量減少對專案發電量的需求，而較高價格對消費者又會造成何種風險呢？
▲是否已對水壩失效或產生其他結構問題，進行了充分的風險估計？
If there is a large-scale water development project proposed for your area, the following questions will reveal where potential problems lie, and may help you become an active participant in a project's planning. Some of these questions may require you to get outside expert help, if your group is unable to evaluate the information internally - for example, an economist could help you evaluate the project's economics, or a hydrologist or ecologist with questions about impacts to the river.
Not all of the following questions apply to all projects. These questions are adapted from a helpful guide, called "Questions to Ask About Water Projects," written by Gerald Meral, former deputy director of California's Department of Water Resources. As Dr. Meral wrote, "The art and science of identifying project benefits is sufficiently well developed, and few project advantages are ever omitted. But the optimistic enthusiasm of water-project sponsors frequently leads them to overlook potentially negative impacts. These questions are designed to reveal previously unidentified problems or costs."
Project Description
▲Is the entire project described? Are future additions included?
▲What is the implementation schedule?
▲What is the plan for public involvement?
▲Are the project's objectives properly describer in terms of the needs it is supposed to meet rather than its structural features? For instance, a proper objective would be, "Develop programmes to match energy needs with energy supply." This allows for a better analysis of all alternatives than a project with the objective, "To build a dam that can produce 500 megawatts of power."
Project Economics
▲Does the project schedule reflect actual experience in the region? (Project economics can be thrown off if a project is delayed or takes longer than expected to build.)
▲Is a realistic inflation of project costs included in the final cost?
▲Are loan interest rates consistent with probable rates at time of bond sale or loan?
▲Are project mitigation measures fully and fairly costed out? The total should include development, operation, maintenance costs, and possible decommissioning costs.
▲Does the project's economic analysis fully and fairly cost out environmental and social costs and benefits? (For example, hydrodams with large reservoirs in dry climates will evaporate large quantities of water. Has the lost water been properly valued?) Frequently excluded costs to be considered:
－lost local jobs (agriculture, fisheries, recreation and tourism jobs);
－full relocation costs, including those to help people re-establish livelihoods;
－lost economic values of natural ecosystem functions, such as the water-purification values of wetlands, and erosion-control and groundwater recharge benefits of forests and savannah.
▲What subsidies are included? For example, will large corporations receive power subsidies? Will any taxes be waived to pay for any part of the project? Will power supply aspects of the project subsidize other aspects of it, such as water supply or navigation?
▲Are distribution costs included in the cost of the project (e.g., power lines, water delivery system)?
▲Will the water need to be treated for human use, and are those costs included?
Risks and Uncertainties
▲Are per-capita demand projections for the power or water included? Do projections reflect a full commitment to an aggressive conservation programme? Are projections up-to-date and do they account for all recent changes that could affect demand (such as economic downturns reducing the need for power, or slowdowns, in population growth in the region)?
▲Are there adequate contingencies included in project cost estimates for all of the following unforeseen problems: project delays due to strikes, adverse weather, unexpected construction conditions (for example, adverse tunneling conditions, or re-evaluation of seismic risks), re-engineering, lawsuits, drought during operation, accidents, civil disobedience or political unrest?
▲Does the analysis compare the risks of the proposed project to the risks of alternatives?
▲Are there signed contracts for the project's power or water?
▲It Irrigation projects: Are agricultural needs for water consistent with the availability of good farmland with good drainage (since irrigating lands with poor drainage will soon lead to salinization problems)? Will market trends for crops grown in the area to be irrigated support agriculture's ability to pay for the water? Are subsidies being paid for these kinds of crops already?
▲What is the risk that higher rates to consumers, conservation or other factors will significantly reduce the demand for the project's output?
▲Has the risk of dam failure or other structural problems been adequately assessed?
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