Laserfiche WebLink
<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />... <br /> <br />,.. <br />. \. <br /> <br />..... <br /> <br />were developed through the construction of dams and reservoirs <br />to conserve spring flood waters for summer use by farms, cities <br />and towns. The availability of water circumscribed the settlement <br />and development of the West. Congress recognized this fact in <br />enacting the Reclamation Act of 1902. Without the extensive <br />development of both non-federal and federal water storage <br />projects, the West might still be known as the Great American <br />Desert. Indeed, water is so important as to be commonly called <br /> <br />the "lifeblood" of the West. <br /> <br />Historically, competing demands for limited water resources <br /> <br /> <br />have continually grown. Today municipal, domestic, industrial <br /> <br />(including energy development), agricultural, recreation, fish <br /> <br />and wildlife, water quality and aesthetic uses are constantly <br /> <br />multiplying. Greater recognition of the importance of instream <br /> <br />values related to the latter environmental uses has further increased <br /> <br />demand and complicated management. However, some still consider <br /> <br /> <br />every drop lost to the oceans as wasted. Water conservation may <br /> <br />be viewed as intrinsically good, but pragmatically it is a means <br /> <br />to an end rather than an end in and of itself. The seemingly <br /> <br />endless demand for water for numerous uses has resulted in a <br /> <br />ge~eral perception among water resource administrators that the <br /> <br />role of water conservation in western water resources management <br /> <br />is to provide additional supplies for competing uses (often in <br /> <br />order to avoid or reduce conflict). This perception is accepted <br /> <br />as a fundamental assumption throughout the discussion of water <br /> <br />conservation in this paper. <br /> <br />A <br />