WSP08452 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

iJ,; lJ91 00 \:3~ \ Harold E, TI s 191 apparently in his favor, No longer will he need adapt to nature; instead he will adapt natur" to his desire" ,ubject only to the limitation of his ability to pay. or arrange credit. SUMMARY OF ESSENTIALS The optimum lIse of ground-water resources will require recognition of the individuality of ground-water reservoirs. bOlh as to natural dmracteristks and as to their place in sodety. The optimum use is not achieved therefore by generillized routines,. but requires planning and management to adapt the physical characteristics of ground-water reservoirs. to the requirements and desires of society. The present level of ground'lI'ater development has been achieved brg-ely hy individual initiative, and therefore largely by separate and independent operations. Coordinated action has heen recog-nized as a need in many localities, and this is a first step toward over-all rnan<l~ement of ~round-wzller reservoirs. Statutes and adjudications tllZl)' aid in this changeover toward more effective control. hut they g-enernlly serve merely to set limitations upon what an individual may rIo, whereas effective management must also indmle the ability to say what should be done and how to do it. A fm;ther step would be integT<lled management to match the integratioJl achieved by nature, which would meJn coordinated regulatioll of inter- related and interdependent ground-w:lter and Iludace-water resources. This is the level of manag-ement achieved, so far as sur-Lice water is concerned, for reservoir systems 011 our maior rivers. as for example the ColoDdo and the CO/llmhia. Still ~\I1other step will be essential if we are to overcome the disparities between water supply and human needs. These disparities ,He evident frolll comparisons of the geographic distribution of population with that of water resources, and further disparities develop eluring periods of Aoo(ls or droughts. Optimum use would require that m.1nagement transfer water from regions of surplus to reg-ions of deficiency. <1nd would. necess~nily depend upon adequate r:1cilities for transportation ,Inr{ storage of water. Such water-maTlagement operations would correspond Ilomewhat to those in the electric-power in. duslry, which has organized "power pools" embracing broad regions. None of this mana~ement of water resources can be effective-in other words. optimum use cannot be achieven.-without the intelligent use- of b;lsic data. To a group of scientists specializing in water data, we could use this same title Eor an entirely different lecture, dcscrj.bing the basic data needed if optimum lIse is to be made of the water resources. Suffice it to point out here that there is need for both fundamental and applied research; need for impro\'ement in our progr~HllS and methods of collection. analysis, and inter- pretalion of basic data: and need for more higbly trained personnel. All inEonned public also is essenti<d to nptjnnlJll use of water resources. :lncl this will require education of individuals in the bcts of life as they per- t;tin to water, and an awareness of the complexities of water resources and their efficient use. For this. education something more is needed than the dull technical prose that is now available, Unless the general public does have at lea.~t :r minimum leve-] of understanding of the physical basis of water supply. as well as of -the social, economic, and legal aspects of water supply, it cannot intelligently evaluate the program' proposed by the specialists to whom it has delegated responsibility for water management. \oVithout this inrclligent evaluation by the public, we might have efficien't managenlent and yet 110t ad1ieve optimum use.