What's Happening to Water? ' 



By Charles J. Robinove 



U.S. Geological Survey, Washington, D.C. 



[With 1 plate] 



What is happening to water? In the early days of the United 

 States, when the population was small and widely scattered, water 

 was not a problem. Most people took water from streams or from 

 dug wells for their personal use or for town distribution systems. 

 Waterpower developments were made on streams in which water 

 wheels could be run for mills. The total use of water in the United 

 States and the average use per individual were not high, and the 

 demands upon the total water supply of the country were small. The 

 problems of water supply through the 19th century were not great — 

 enough water was available for most users. If the supply might 

 be short in one area, it could be supplemented from another; if the 

 quality of surface water was poor for a particular industry, the 

 ground water in the immediate area might be usable. 



Since that time the American way of life has changed. Water is 

 used for countless purposes, many of which were not dreamed of 50 

 years ago. The same water may be used over and over again in proc- 

 esses where it is not consumed, such as waterpower or cooling, or it 

 may be consumed by irrigation or industry. 



Today, the problems of water and water conservation are para- 

 mount in the minds of many people in the United States. Large 

 organizations, both within and outside the Government, are con- 

 cerned with the investigation of water resources, the development of 

 water, and the proper management of water. More and more we hear 

 that water is the "limiting factor" in developments of irrigation, 

 industrial, waterpower, and municipal projects. It is apt to quote 

 here the words of Oscar E. Meinzer, who, in an article entitled "Our 

 Water Supply" in the 1937 Annual Report of the Smithsonian Insti- 

 tution, said, "Deprived of water, all plants and animals would perish. 



1 Publication authorized by the Director, U.S. Geological Survey. 



375 



