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rt'.Jf'l'::;~f:~ .! .,;J ,."..1)'0,.::1 A LOOK TO THE FUTURE 79 protection and welfare. And if West- erners learn to get by on less water by eliminating waste, the next time a drought comes the margin by which water consumption can be reduced without imposing real hardships may be dramatically lessened. If the water saved by conservation is put to use by others, the next drought could mean hardships that the reservoirs, the new wells and the water reclamation equip- ment will not be able to overcome, Also, he could have pointed out that solu- tions to the problems he mentions would require more water, Agencies at all levels of government found that they could cooperate during the drought to alleviate or solve drought induced problems within their mission and the legal and other constraints imposed upon them, In the instan- ces when cooperation could not be accom- plished, some reevaluation of policies, priori- ties, operating agreements, and legal aspects seems in order so that reaction to a drought crisis can be replaced by planned actions before a drought occurs, For example: Irri- gators in Wisconsin claimed that though emer- gency drought relief programs were in effect, the delays in providing relief reduced the usefulness of the assistance, Also, they were concerned that a 30-day state-of-emergency period was too short a ti me considering the duration of the drought in 1976. The promised extension was for another 30 days, but it came after an interval of a month, Also, the U .S, General Accounting Office (1977) questioned whether existing water resource plans and programs adequately meet the competing de- mands for water uses. Companies and municipalities supplying do- mestic water raised their rates to maintain their level of income while water sales were down because of rationing during the drought. At the end of the drought, part of the raise was commonly rescinded, but the increased rates may be the initial step toward the end of "cheap" water, One benefit of the water shortage is that people who looked upon water as an inexpensive resource, a "freebie" as one person expressed it, and one readily obtained are now concerned about the adequacy of the water supply and its worth in today's market. Usually the consumer who used more water paid a lower rate, but proponents of water conservation argue that the more water used, the higher the rate should be, A small step toward water conservation has occurred in Wisconsin where legislation has been intro- duced to amend the plumbing code to restrict flow rates to 3 gal/min regardless of pressure. The water situation has been compared to the circumstances relating to the change in the cost of energy in 1973. More changes in the pricing policies for water will probably occur in the future. The recycling of water used by industry and by a few households seems to be here to stay. The degree to which recycling is developed depends, among other things, upon the attitude of the public toward the uses of recycled water, the elimination of health hazards, the costs of recycling equipment, the cost of fresh water, and the availability of fresh water. Currently, the prevailing view in relation to recycling in homes is that treatment at the source will be less expensive and safer than if it is done by nonprofessionals in the home. There are those who contend that people who move into desert areas where the water supply is insufficient for their needs should not receive water from systems subsidized by the nation's taxpayers. One alternative for these people is to rely on desalinated water whiCh is relatively expensive, but many people in the United States and in other countries do so now. The drought refocused attention on desalini- zation of seawater; however, its cost is about three to nine times the cost of present supplies, Furthermore massive growth in desalinization would require major expendi- tures of energy-another commodity increas- ingly in short supply. A drought is a catalyst that ma!<es the "have-nots" look toward the "haves" for sup- plies of additional water, The distinction between the two groups is usually relative and often nebulous, but nevertheless interest in interbasin transfers of water is renewed. Whether or not the United States can afford to build very large storage and distribution sys- tems is a question to be settled in the future probably under different social and economic conditions than exist in 1978. The costs of even intrabasin transfers or exchanges of water are high, and many complex factors must be considered and integrated into a plan