WSP10442

• File Number: 8021
• Description: Section D General Correspondence-Western States Water Council
• Date: 12/1/1966
• Title: ASCE News-Principles of a Sound National Water Policy
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Publication

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Utl122G

More detailed planning to penf
action to be laken in time (0 Iller I th~
needs should; he accompli"lhcd al Ihe
appropriate level... of rc~r(ln:-.ihili[y for
action and s.hould he con"i"lenl wilh
any availilblc framework phi"" which
have been developed and accepted.
Water serves many nC'cJ" ilnd pur-
poses of society and is vilal 10 somc
of rhem. Waler-u"Ic plan.... should he
drawn with due regard for all pm"libtc
uses and needs and for the effeer:-. of
such uses on interrelated aspCL'h of the
environment. The pos'iihiliIIC'i for mul-
tiple use for two or morc purpo...c...
should he explored 10 determine lhe
optimum combination... to <.1chic\'c van-
ous objectives. Alternative plans ...hollld
be delineated to permit jUd!!IllL'1l1 nf thL'
extent to which each plan would rL'ali/~
the objectives of those who arc afTec(cd
All specific propo..nls for water l1"C for
a single purpose or for multiple pm-
poses should be analyzed in 1:1e light
of their consistency wirh available COIll-
prehensive plans.

}

....

Planning obloe,lvos

Plans for water-resource lIse at <III
levels of decision and action ~hOll]d bL'
designed ro contrihute to llle general
welfare of all of the people. A common
denominator for many aspects Ilr thL'
general welfare is cconomic elTiL'lellL'Y.
When effects other than rhe ecnnonHL'
are invoTved. the cost in economic cfli-
ciency must be a guide in d~termining
the weight that should he given such
effecrs. Similarly. when ohjeclivcs other
than economic efficiency arc e~tah-
lished, the extent of departure frolll
optimum cconomi(..' etTtciency mllst hL'
an aid 10 judgment as to the accepl-
ability of plans which sati"fy other Ihan
economic objective... Optimum. eco-
nomic efficiency. therefore. ...hould bL'
a basic planning ohjeclive with depar-
ture therefrom dearly Jdine.lfcd .1'" <III
aid to sati"ifnetory pl:mning dccisiClll".
However. the lIse of oplimum eco-
nomic efficiency as a h.l'.ic ohjccli....c
and as a baseline for aid 10 judgment
should not be const rued rl'i a hia",
against aecompli"hmellt of other oh.iec-
lives such as preservation of wildcr-
ne~s and historic values. correction of
under-utilization of regional resourcc".
or balancing development among re.
gions.

PlannJn, procoduros

Comprehensive fnlll1l~work plans for
warer me should be prepared and kept
up fO date for major region... ..IIHI rl\'el"
hasi"", of the United StatL..... Coordi-
nated Federal. slatc and hleal partici-
pation is cssl'ntial. SpL'ciliL' proj\'t:l
plnnninp ~hould L'onfollH to lhe gllide-
line~ of any hroader pi am I hat hav\.'
received acceptance and ...hould he car-

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rieu out at the Ilm.est leyel of re...pon-
~ihililY that i" practicable anu consist-
ent with thc puhlic intere"ts.
AI thc heginnin!! of any planning
I:ffurl. Ihe ohJL'ctivcs ."hould he :m-
nouncL'd iInd opportunity given tu tho...e
who will be atreL'fcd tll expre".... Iheir
views. A" planlling proceed". Ihe nd.
vantage... of altcrnative way" of 1l1eeling
lhc planning ohjcctive... should he ex-
plained to <llfc(:ted interests. preferably
Ihrough public hearing....
Propo"al" for ,ll1thorization or adop,
lion of ...pecitlc plan... shol1ld include
presentatIon and evalualion of alterna-
ti....e plan... !-.o (hat thme who have the
re"'poll"ihllity for decision may e.'l{ercise
thai re"pomihility in judging how well
a plan I11eet... the applicahle ohjectives
amI criteria.

Planning criteria ond .tandards

Wilh the objectives of the planning
e/Torr in mind. criteria and standard...
lllmt be e...tahli"hed to permit formula-
tion of plan... thai will rcalize the objc~-
tive... LO the maximum extent pO"''iibk
and to permit evaluation i.llld com-
pari~on of Ihe cx(cnt to which alter-
native ...olutinn" will accomplish lhe
ohjcclive'i.
In...o far a... the ohjective of economiL:
r.:Oicieney is concerned. all effects. hcnc-
flcial or advcr...e. thaI \~ill result from
L'XCClllion or (he p[:111 should he taken
into ;}(:euunt in l,;On"i...lcnl cconomic
Icrm.... Elkct.. that can he expected to
result whether the plan is carried ou1
or not ...hollh.l he netled out of lhe eval.
uation. En~L'ts should he evaluated
over the ph}"ical or llseful life of thL'
planlled /llea"LHC". whichever is 'ihorter.
and con....erted to a coml11on time basi"
I hrollgh ll"e 01 a discount rate which
rcllects the preference Ihat society has
for immediatc over deferred henefits.
The ohjccti....e of economic eHicicncy
will he rcali/ed 1110"1 complelc!y if fom
criteria arc Illet:
I. The henetll'i of the plan exceed
(he cosl.
2. Each separahle feature of the
plan provide" benetlts at IC:1...t equal 10
il'i ...ep:1rahle co..."'.
J. The \.~.xce"," ot hL'llefit'i over co...",
is Illorc than for any grentcr or lesser
scale of devclopment.
4. No le..~ costly plan that would
accompli"h Ihe same purpo...e"i is pre-
cluded from developmcnt if the pro-
po"ed project i... undertaken.
In formulating fwd e\'nlu'-lting plans
fl(\l11 an ecnnomiL' eniciency stano-
point. elfech whiL'h canllot he valued
in economic t~rll1'" ..hould he taken inlo
ilcenlllll. The extL'nt of JL'partUl"C from
l)ptimU1l1 ~c\lno1llic cllieiL'ney necc......ary
In all\)\\, for ...ueh dfect... can he a lI"cful
guid\' to judgment a" 10 the weight that
...hOllld i'lL' !!i~eJl to thclll ill formulating

/)I'C4'1II/,,'r 1966

. ~

tns anJ eval"aling alle;'nallves,
For planning ohjl.'ctive... other than
economic cllicienc\'. crileria and pro-
(;edure" ",h\Hdd h~ c...tahli",hed where
po"...ih1c 10 pCl"Illil direct dClerlllin:Jllon
of the exlI.'nl III \~hidl ]l\l\\ihle allcr-
native plan... \~ ill IllL'L'1 the objective.
\Vhcrc this i... nllt pr;lcll..:ahle. the neL.c....-
"ar}' cxtcnt of dep;l1 I III',,' from optimum
economic L'llicil.'Il\..~' rn;IY ""'0 be a use-
ful guide tl) e\'alualion and judgmcnt.

Cost .haring policies

The co...'" or lllaillt:\Ining or develop.
ing water re"lHII (L.... In meet varlOU""
need... of ...nl..I\.'IY "hUlrld hL' horne a...
dircct]y <I" pn...~ihk hy Ihe iml1vidual...
or group" or IIHlindll;d" who"e needs
arc heing Illel. WIlI.'1l ell...(\ arc incurred
to ...enc more thilll onL' rurpo...c or to
henefit more than une individual or
group. as is lI...u:l1ly the c:l"e. CO"I'i in-
curred cxclu...ivcly for a specific bene-
ficiary ~hollhl hL' horne hy him and
rel1laining 01' jlllnl co"t" "erving. more
Ihan one purpose or henefici:lry ...houlu
he home cquilahly in ;1 lllilllller Ihat re-
llecrs Ihe valtlL' tll.!1 Ihe heneficiaries
attach to Ihc pllrpcN:-... "erved.

Application of policiel

The fOl"c!!ning h;l\ic principle'i gen-
crally havc ;lpplication to all u...e... of
the waleI' re"'l)lllCC. For cach ...pccific
purpose. however. there arc adJitional
perl11lcnt l.olhidcralions. The proce-
dures. induding laws, regubtions. in.
"titutillll..;. and pricing policie.. through
which ~nllnd hil"ic principle\ may b("
practicably applied to various water
II"L'" will llcce..."arily dilTer. Abo. the
practicahle eXlent of conformance to
ideal ha...ic principles \vill vary among
water me", hcc:tll"e of difference'\ in thc
umount of h:l."iL. data. knowledge. and
lInder"';tndillg '-lvailahfe anu ohtain-
ahle. Nevl'r1hck....... incre"...ing con...i...t-
ency in W;lIL'] policie" and prac1ice", for
purpose" can he realized through con-
stant apprai"al in the light of sound
bil...ie principle".
CUlTL'nt waleI' policie... and practice..
vary in their JL'gree of conformance 10
common llllldalllcntal principles al<io
becallse they, L'mhndy llhjecli\'cs other
than the h,l"ic ohjectivc of economic
e11icicllcy and lhe generally recognized
social ohjectivc" of equity and regard
for (he righl" of individuals. The elt-
lenl of compromi"e with sound ha...ic
principles nece'i":Iry to aecompli<jh ad-
ditional objective" should he examined
for pCMihlc modific:ltion of policy from
timc 10 time 10 in"llrc Ihal ...ocielY ap.
prove... of IhL" additional ohjeclives and
the comprt1mi"e... wilh ha...ic principles
thai :He IlL.ce......:II"). In accollllllodate
thcm.

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