7795

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 7795
• Author: Natural Resources Law Center.
• Title: America's Waters
• USFW Year: 1992.
• USFW - Doc Type: A New Era of Sustainability, Report of the Long's Peak Working Group on National Water Policy, Objectives and Initiatives.
• Copyright Material: NO

NATIONAL POLICY OBJECTIVES

. A national wiler policy should refonn wiler governance to achieve four objectives for sustainable water use: warer use
efficiency and comcrvation, ecological integrity and restoration, clean wiler, and equity and panicipatiOll in dec:isionmaking.
Institutional reform to advance these objectives must be sensitive to human economic needs and the government's financial
constraintS.

WATER USE EFFICIENCY AND
CONSERV AnON

Water is used inefficiently an across the United StaleS,
whether in agricullUJ'e (the largest single user of America's
waters), in industry, or in urban areas. Qovemmcru has
played an active role in building water projects but has taken
a passive approach toward encouraging waler conservation.
Despite waler's imponancc as a public resource, state and
federal governments have treated it as a free good, allowing
the appropriation of Waler from rivers. aquifers, and lakes
without charge. Water is made available to customers at
prices far below its actual value, even when it was devel-
oped, stOred. and transpaned at great cost.

Changing economic, social, and environmental values
and emerging new teclmology have made Waler conservation
one of the most promising strategies for protecting existing
water supplies. maintaining water quality and ecosystems,
sustaining insueam floWS, resolving long-standing water
conflicts (including Indian water rights), and establishing a
sustainable water program. There is broad public support for
achieving efficiency in urban and agricultural water use.
Methods include water conservation. water saving teehnol-
ogy, pricing reforms, and reallocation from lower to higher
priority uses. Although efficient water use produces eco.
nomic, social, and environmental benefits, improved effi-
ciencyoften is viewed as beyond die traditional responsibili-
ties of water and wastewater agencies. To promote greater
waler use efficiency, the federal government should encour-
age more widespread use of integra1ed resource planning and
managemeJJl by water and wastewater agencies and require it
as a condition of financial assistance.

General Principles

· Increased demand on water resources, rising costs for
water treannent, and contemporary environmental
values combine to make me efficicm use of water
resources a central aspect of an war policy.

· The federal govemmeru should provide leadership,
making waler conservation an explicit pan of every
water program and policy.

· Transfers of water from one use to anolher can
CODIribute substantially to water use efficiency, and
sbouJd be facilitated by me federal government,
taking into account environmemal :md equity consid-
eraDons.

· The efficicnl use and conservation of water will be
optimized tIuough cooperation among federal, state,
local, and tribal governmentS, and by an open participa-
tory process.

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