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OJ32?~ I. THE NATURE OF CONFLICTS IN RIVER BASIN MANAGEMENT River basins are by definition hydrologically-related areas. The runoff of a non- closed river basin's surface water enters a physically interconnected stream system that exits the basin at a single point. Major river basins may be subdivided into smaller drainage basins, themselves often large river basins. For example, the Mississippi River basin is almost never thought of in its entirety, but rather in terms of its component river basins -- the Red, the Arkansas, the Ohio, the Missouri, and so forth. Large river basins such as the Mississippi, or even its major component river basins, have very few commonalities across their entire extent. Central Illinois is quite unlike central Montana, and both are quite unlike central Missouri; yet one common thread, their surface water system, connects them all to form the Mississippi River basin. The commonality of the surface water resources of a river basin is both a potentially unifying and at the same time divisive factor" River navigation, flood control or recreation development may draw otherwise diverse interests together across an entire river basin to promote their development. Similarly, in the arid western states the desire for adequate municipal water supplies and irrigation development may bring urban and rural interests together for their common benefit. On the other hand, especially in water-short river basins, competing aims for water development may produce major conflicts between individuals, groups or units of government" Conflicts over water in' a river basin involve either the quantity or quality of the common resource, or both. Downstream parties to a conflict may claim they -1-