312 



Technology exists to provide thorough treatment for nearly every 

 kind of municipal and industrial waste, and there is no reason not 

 to provide treatment sufficient to protect the environment from the 

 damage and to permit other uses. Treatment requirements for dif- 

 ferent wastes may vary from place to place according to local condi- 

 tions, but damage to the environment and restriction of other uses 

 can be prevented. 



"Water quality standards have been set and are now being imple- 

 mented in all coastal States. These standards are the foundation upon 

 which the effective control of estuarine pollution rests, and they pro- 

 vide the framework within w'hich technical management can effectively 

 operate. 



As pointed out earlier in this chapter, however, estuarine waters even 

 in busy harbors are used for recreational purposes by those who cannot 

 afford to go elsewhere, regardless of whether the waters are safe for 

 body contact or not. Also the role of the estuarine zone as a nursery 

 for some fish, passage for others, and a residence for still more is 

 readily apparent although its full implications in the energy conver- 

 sion chain are not understood. For these reasons the water quality 

 goal of estuarine management should be to keep all waters safe for 

 direct contact by humans and also usable as a fish and wildlife habitat. 



Section 5. Summary 



Loss of use and use damage in the estuarine environment are the 

 direct results of unrestrained exploitation of estuarine resources. The 

 examples presented, limited as they are by the difficulty of measuring 

 use damages, show clearly the impact of one use on another and give 

 a foretaste of the extensive damage that will occur if unrestrained 

 exploitation continues. 



Effective technical management of the estuarine zone requires the 

 application of all pertinent existing knowledge to the resolution of 

 use conflicts in estuarine management units. 



REFERENCES 



IV-&-1 Hargis, W. J., "Final Report on Results of Operation James River," 

 Special Rejwrt No. 7, Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences, Glou- 

 cester Point, Va., 73 pp. (1966) . 



IV-6-2 Stevens, D. M., "Solid Waste Disposal and San Francisco Bay," San 

 Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, p. 6 

 (1966). 



IV-6-3 Odum, H. T., "Coastal Ecological Systems of the United States," Re- 

 port on FWPCA Contract No. 14-12-429, p. 1109 (1969). In press. 



IV-6-4 Anon., "Case Studies of Estuarine Sedimentation and its Relation to 

 Pollution of the Estuarine Environment," Report on FWPCA Con- 

 tract No. 14^12-445 by Gulf Universities Research Corp., p. D-16 

 (1969). In press. 



IV-6-5 Odum, op. cit. p. 1006^1013. 



IV-6-6 Basye, D. E., "Santa Barbara Sparkling in Wake of Oil Cleanup," Oil 

 and Gas Journal, p. 33 (Aug. 25, 1969) . 



IV-6-7 Klaus, R. L., "In the Case of Santa Barbara," Our Sun, p. 4 (summer, 

 1969). 



IV-6-8 Odum, op. cit, p. 1331. 



IV-6-9 Odum, op. cit., p. 1335. 



IV-6-10 Anon., "A Report on Proposed Leasing of State Owned Lands for 

 Phosphate Mining in Chatham County, Ga.," Advisory Committee 

 on Mineral Leasing, University of Georgia, p. C-22 (1968). 



