<br />
<br />.. ..
<br />. ,
<br />been put in the batik~ :\ tremendous ,~ound-
<br />water r'-:-t'rvc has hN-n building up and could be
<br />managed to g:reat advantage.
<br />For <Ill example of good water management.
<br />c{)n~idcr Louiwille. K.y. During World War II.
<br />pumping- fmm c1o~t"!y placed indtNrial well~ in.
<br />(rea~t"d ,i::rt'atly. From ~i million gallnn~ a day,
<br />u:--e ro~ to is m~d. and Ihe water le\'el~ in <;orne
<br />\\-e]]~ dedint'd nearh- 10 bc-drock. The city offi-
<br />cial~ and the War Production Board called on
<br />the V,S, Geological SurHY for advice. Surw)'
<br />hydroloci~t~ in cooperalion with local and State
<br />agencir~ mapped the' aquifer and ~tudied il~ rate
<br />of natur.ll r('char.~e. It ot'came clear that Louis-
<br />\.ille wa" li,'ing t>cy'ond il~ IUl"am. so far a~ wound
<br />water wa." wncemed. The adjacent Ohio River
<br />was available. but "u~titution of it~ water for
<br />that from \H~lIs wOllld ha\'e been difficult or im-
<br />po",-~ible. in ,'iew of shorta.~(<'; of critical materials.
<br />~Ilch aj pump" and pipe. Con~n-ation meas-
<br />ures were adopted as rapidIy as. poosible 10 re-
<br />duce the ground-water draft. and filtered cilY
<br />water from Ihe riveT was injened into wells al
<br />two plants \.here conditions were m()<;t critical.
<br />The water was injected durin.~ the winter, when
<br />it was cold. and thu~ made Ihe wells nen more
<br />dTrClin' for Iheir principal me, for cooling, when
<br />the water wa~ repump('d the next ~umm('r. Thl:'
<br />ground-water draft i~ now ~table and ,\ater le,'e1~
<br />hase reron'red to prn'iolls stages throu.g-hout
<br />most of Ihe area,
<br />GO<Xl management of ~ound,wat('f resources
<br />depends upon knowledge of basic water facts,
<br />We nced more detailed ~tudies of ground watcr
<br />In local areas, and morc basic rt':'earch on rt"plen-
<br />i_~hmenl and mo\"ement of ground water. \\'e
<br />need to know more about gTound-waler chem-
<br />istry aL"O. \\'e mll~1 continue to impro\"e our
<br />method" of ~toring <.urplu" water in undl:'r,ground
<br />r~er\"oif!l..
<br />The ground '\'ate'r that ~ep~ into slreams pro-
<br />\-ides the base flow (If the stream.o.-tht" low f!m.
<br />that is ~u~tained thrOlll::h Ihe dri~t part of the
<br />year. If Woller !t'\"t.I~ dedint" bt-cau"e of hea':'
<br />pumping, the ha~e flo...., of stre:um will be re-
<br />duced. Ground and ~urfa.ce walers are inex-
<br />tricabl\" cnnnt"cted and should hto ..ttldied to-
<br />gether: 'n pla!l~ for ri\Tr-ba~in dewlopment
<br />I:'rounu walt'r ha<. commonly l}('t"!l n<,det'ted. \t't
<br />plans for rin'r ba~im may vitall,- aITe.t tht"
<br />groulld-w:ucr re<cr\'oir, and ,ict" 'e~a. The
<br />ratl:' of natural replcnishment need not limil the
<br />
<br />U~ of ground water if floodwaters can be u.~d
<br />to increase recharge artificially, River-basin de-
<br />H:lopment might indude a coordinated program
<br />of flood. control and artificial recharge.
<br />Bowen'r, {"\'en Ihe hydrologic !acts on ground
<br />water are not enough. \\'e mu,;,t know also what
<br />the demand is for water in a given area, ....,hat the
<br />economic trend~ arl', whal the future demand
<br />may be. What win bt, Ihe effl'cl~ of withdrawal
<br />and list' of water upon Ihe ~und-water reser-
<br />,'oir? In our waler-resources bank the hook-
<br />k(~epill(: "till i~ not adequate.
<br />The Geological Sun-ey has collected a great
<br />deal of information on ~ound-wat('r fl"SOUrces,
<br />much of Ihis work havinr: bcen done in coopera-
<br />tion with the Statt"", and some State.~ are making
<br />~tudies on Ih<,ir own. .\1 ucll remain" to be done,
<br />howe\"er, and there are few areas in which the
<br />s.cale of the program is Y'et adequate to mect the
<br />growing- needs.
<br />Are there am' ways of sa,'ing ground water,
<br />or makin,g it g'O furthrr in areas where il is des-
<br />perately necded? Ground-watl'r probl('TllS are
<br />mO<.t critical in thl' \\" eqem States. The popu-
<br />lation of thC"'e State!' is expected to increa~ faster
<br />than Ihe national awrage. :hailabiJity of ground
<br />water for agri("\llture, public ~upplies, and in-
<br />duslry is therefore e;;peci.l\ly important in the
<br />West. There are M'n"ral mea<.ures which, if un-
<br />dertaken on a large scak, would conser;e the
<br />supply of ~roll!ld \\'ater. Some ("fOpS require a
<br />good deal of \\'ater. Other crops t1Sing-les.s water
<br />pnhap" could be sull"tituted in "Ol11C areas. Xat-
<br />ural replenishment call be incr('a~d in many
<br />plac("i by increas.ing the rate of infiltration into the
<br /><'oil or <'ITeambt'ds, Certain nonuscful plants and
<br />shrub<;. ~\lch as sahcedar, ("onsume great quan-
<br />tities of waler. R~eaTch to di~O\'er f('asible
<br />method~ of controlling their .I!Towth or eraditat-
<br />ing- them completely i.s now acti"e. Reduction
<br />of evaporation from re"t'r\'oir.<. and eH!l of tran.
<br />spiration h\' certain methrx!s of soil treatment,
<br />hold~ :'Orne promi<('. Gradual cOll\'eNion from
<br />irri_gation to lI:<{,S that extract more dollars from
<br />a ~iwn \'olume of watl'r is hound to be a prin-
<br />cipal nWlhod. hut economic di~nlptions must be
<br />minimized.
<br />
<br />Where feasible. waler of inferior quality in-
<br />'tead of fir!'t--quality \\ater could be used for cer-
<br />tain induslrial prnce"'-,<"". For cooling and certain
<br />other pUTJlO"'N. the S,lme water can be used SC"-
<br />
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