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Q011~n FOREWORD .!) " People throughout the state and nation are becoming increasingly aware of the rapidly expanding demands for water and consequent water shortages. These growing demands are bringing many problems of water use and control to the forefront of publ ic discussion. , Two of every three gallons of water used today in Kansas are for irrigation. Irrigation can be expected to continue to increase in Kansas because of its obvious economic advantages. In view of the increasingly large amounts of water it will use, it is important to anticipate the growth in irrigation water demands. What is needed now is an awareness of the magnitude of the problem and what the future holds so individual irrigators wi 11 adopt water-saving practices. Many irrigators are install ing underground pipelines for transmission of water from well to the field, controll ing phreatophytes and weeds, ponding and reusing tail water, metering water used, planting more adaptable crops, and controlling land slopes, but much still can be done to increase water-use efficiency. Understanding future trends in management and technology related to irrigation draws upon many fields of study including engineering, economics, soils, crops, hydrology, cl imatology, adult education-- and research results from all those areas. One of the basic precepts in studying water demands is an understanding of future economic conditions and conversion of forecasts into demands for water and land. In 1955, the Kansas Legislature created the ~ater Resources Board and directed it to work out a state plan of water resources development. The initial effort was not to establish rigid patterns for development, control, and use, but rather to delineate major water resource goals and specific needs through 1975. The work provided the base for subsequent more detailed studies. Immediate goals of the second stage of planning include more precise determination of immediate water needs and preliminary extension of those needs at least 40 years into the future. ~~ The Board in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, is conducting a state-wide study of potential industrial and agricultural growth, population expansion and the water requirements and use of such potential developments. At the same time the Board is cooperating with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service, in the Arkansas River Drainage Basin to obtain a better under- standing of rural community water problems and possible solutions. In each of those studies it became apparent early that a better under- standing is needed of future effects of management and technology on irrigation water requirements.