INTRODUCTION 13 



tion's area. In three-fourths of the country there is practically 

 no detailed information concerning the ground-water reser- 

 voirs. 



Intelligent development of water resources is dependent 

 upon a framework of law that will permit achieving the wisest 

 use of the water and will prevent activities that would defeat 

 the purpose of the development. To that end, the legal rights 

 and responsibilities of each water user should be clearly de- 

 fined. Unfortunately, much of the existing water law is un- 

 sound, chiefly because it has been developed on the basis of 

 meager hydrologic facts and in some cases incorrect assump- 

 tions. As a result, some statutes and court decisions are so writ- 

 ten as to preclude effective development and maximum utiliza- 

 tion of water. A body of workable water law is needed for 

 effective control of development and to protect water rights. 

 But first there must be adequate reliable information upon 

 which to base determinations as to questions of fact and ques- 

 tions of law. Many of the defects of existing water law can be 

 overcome as our knowledge of the water resources expands, al- 

 though some lag is inevitable. In the present status of develop- 

 ment, which is considered to be still far from the full potential 

 in most states, restrictions on water use should be the mini- 

 mum consistent with effective control. Maximum reliance 

 should be placed upon voluntary cooperation of water users. 



In the conservation of all renewable resources, water plays 

 a part not only in its own right but in sustaining the other 

 resources. Some problems and conflicts have already arisen, 

 where the planned use and wise management of these other 

 resources involves some cost in water, or vice versa. Real con- 

 servation requires a balanced program in which the relative 

 importance of all of the individual resources in each locality 

 is recognized. Intelligent action requires detailed information 

 and analysis by small units, and broad regional generaliza- 

 tions may be very unsound without this specific attention to 

 details. For the purpose of this broad-brush national survey, 

 however, some generalization may be permitted. 



Water is the critical resource in most of the semiarid or more 



