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,'~" ~~~) On"6#') ~ u.G ..:.. "." ~j) l - 6 - - ,f. .+ the state can then be brought to bear on basic physical factors in the formulation of a sound water development policy. : Failure to anticipate dependable supply may ~esult in the authorization of storage projects that will not provide sufficient water to justify their construction. If the chemical quality of water is not known, irrigation works may be developed to use water which is not chemically suitable for the crops most likely to be grown. If the rate of depletion of ground water sup- ply is not know, regulatory measures may be inaugurated too late to main- tain water levels. From an operating point of view, decisions on pollution programs, water rights allocation, plant and project design, water control measures and a host of other problems regarding how much water is available and how it can be used and controlled are difficult without sufficient know- ledge regarding the characteristics of the natural resource being ad- ministered. Water control structures may not be built strong enough or large enough to stand stresses that will develop during high water periods if there is a lack of sufficient information as to precipitation, run-off and stream-flow. On the other hand, design engineers may be made over- cautious by experience with failures in the past and, lacking adequate .dependable data, they may overdesign, greatly increasing the cost of projects. In pollution control, enforcement measures may depend on the rate at. which pollution is increasing, the purity requirements for various uses and an ability to determine when pollution is likely to reach levels too high for the uses to which the water is being put. To what extent are the needs for basic data regarding water re- sources being met at the present time? A precise answer to this question is difficult, but the evidence is overwhelming that we do not have suf- ficiently broad information to meet the requirements of present and future water programs except in some cases on a selective basis and for specific purposes. No figures are available which show total state funds spent annually for water resource data gathering. Figures showing funds contri- buted by the states in the Missouri Basin under the cooperative data pro- gram with the U. S. Geological Survey are available and are shown in Ap- pendix B. Although in a number of states programs are carried on, fre- quently by several different agencies, which do not come under the co- operative program, some idea of the present size of the state effort is given by tbe cooperative program figures, since few states spend large sums independent of this program. TWo Hoover Commissions, the Presdient's Water Resources Policy Commission, the Missouri Basin Survey Commission, and the recent Presi- dential Advisory Committee on Water Resources Policy, all have stressed the deficiencies in the present programs. The Missouri Basin Survey Commission Report states that: "Resource information now available is les.s than adequate for planning many aspects of a comprehensive program." The Presidential Advisory Committee Report indicated several deficiencies: there has been inadequate area coverage; there have not been long enough periods of the uninterrupted collection of comparable data; the quality of some records is inadequate; there has not been enough correlation and evaluation of raw data. The Committee on Standards for Basic Data, consisting of federal agency representatives, reported to the President's Water Resources Policy