IV-550 



the estuarine zone from suffering severe damage from such waste dis- 

 charges. 



No overall estimate of the value of this use of the estuarine 

 resource is possible because the level of treatment necessary in any 

 particular case depends on many local factors. 



While the use of estuarine waters for waste disposal may not be 

 aesthetically appealina it is an existing estuarine use with which 

 other uses must compete, and it should be considered along with them 

 in the overall economic evaluation of estuarine uses. 



Examples of Socioeconomic Environments in the Estuarine Zone 



Almost all estuarine systmes have either a multiplicity of uses at 

 the present time or such uses are available in the system. Estuaries 

 presently support such varied uses as military berthing and associated 

 activities, commercial port facilities, shipping channels, industrial 

 uses, commercial fisheries, sport fishing, recreation, wildlife 

 habitat, and purely aesthetic purposes. In most estuaries one or 

 two of the uses predominate while the others take minor roles. 



Marragansett Bay 1s an ideal example of an estuary that has developed 

 in an unbalanced fashion. That is, the economic value of the estuary 

 at the present time is largely assoicated with the industrial, mil- 

 itary, and transportation uses of its waters. Other uses are, of 

 course, made of the estuary but their economic significance is 



