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directions, by some secret influences, beyond our comprehensIon." [Chatfield v. Hilson, 28 Vt. 119, 54 (1855).] Although It Is true enough that ground water Is still Invisible to the naked eye, much of Its "secretiveness" and "IncomprehensIbility" has been removed by the science of ground water hydrology. Some regulatory measures are not lImited to defined local areas. For example, laws and regulations relating to well drilling, or to reports requIred from ground water users, may be statewide In applica- tion. It Is the aggregate of many withdrawals of water from given sources of supply, which mayor may not be physically Interconnected, that cause the greatest concern; hence are the essentIal factors of specific ground water supply and specIfic' surface area In which with- drawals therefrom are made. The starting point In designating a ground water administrative area, then, Is determination of the body of ground water to which It Is to be applied -- variously termed a basin. reservoir, formation. or aqUifer. For administrative purposes, a surface area Is designated which overlies a ground water body, or a subdivisIon of It, or possibly more than one dIstInct formation. The purpose of a ground water area may be to supervise withdrawals of water according to relative priorities of surface and ground water rights, as in case of watermaster districts In Idaho. The purpose may be to Impose regulatory and corrective measures through the media of autonomous legal subdivisions. Examples are the Nebraska ground water conservation district, the New Mexico artesian conservancy district, and the Texas underground water conservation dl stri ct. If the status of the ground water supply In a particular region gives cause for concern and suggests the need of public regulation, either permanently or for the time being, the affected area Is desig- nated for this purpose by the State administrator. A favorite term [s "crItIcal area," whIch Is used In the larger number of States. Other statutes speak of areas "desi gnated" or "defi ned" by. the admi nl s- trator. A critical ground water area, as defined in the Arizona statute, overlies a ground water basin or subdivIsion in which there Is not enough ground water to provide a reasonably safe supply for irrigation of cultivated lands at the then current rates of withdrawal. The same thought is expressed In some other statutes but without limiting the hazard to irrIgation uses. Elsewhere an area may be critical if over- draft or pollution is threatened, without waiting for the actual occurrence. For example, the criterion in Colorado Is a water supply that appears to have approached, reached, or exceeded the normal annual rate of replenIshment. Danger signals In Wyoming include use - 8 -