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ROBERT 0. SYLVESTER 

 those users that can degrade the water quality and reduce 

 the usefulness of a water resource should demonstrate 

 that their actions are not harmful or face the cost of 

 this damage. 



It is a most difficult task to prove damage 

 to a water environment unless the damage be so severe that 

 it is obvious to all. Pollutants are many and their 

 effect on water uses is not well understood. Some types 

 of damage can be subtle, difficult to observe, and may 

 only be evident after a long period of time has elapsed. 

 Other than outright death of water biota or the con- 

 traction of disease by humans, we have no widely accepted 

 parameters of total pollution damage. Water quality 

 management must optimize the long-term stream of beneficial 

 uses and not seek non-optimum short-term solutions. 



Consideration of the results, conclusions 

 and recommendations of this report should not be restricted 

 to whether or not significant physical damage has been 

 caused by waste discbarge or on the identifiable dollar 

 value of oae use versus another. Rather they should be 

 viewed with the following considerations in mind: 



1. The marine waters in question are 

 public waters tbat; must be suitable for all to enjoy and 

 use wherein one does not gain ot the expense of others 



