Chapter I 



INTRODUCTION 



Water is generally a renewable resource. In this respect it is 

 like soil and plant and animal life. Rain and snow periodically 

 replenish the natural supply of waters on the earth's surface 

 and in the soil and in those reservoirs underground which 

 supply wells and springs. 



This natural supply of water, like that of other renewable 

 (and nonrenewable) resources, is usually limited as to time and 

 place. In recent years our use of this limited supply has grown 

 enormously. 



Because modern society has brought such heavy demands 

 upon the Nation's water resources, the need to conserve them 

 is now generally recognized. This recognition is a long step 

 in the right direction. But clearly much more is required for 

 the sound development, wise use, and protection of these re- 

 sources. We require, for one thing, much more technical 

 knowledge. 



Because we are still deficient in this knowledge, the effec- 

 tive use and conservation of our water have been hampered. 

 For we do not yet know enough in precise terms about the 

 water resources available to us, or the use currently made of 

 water throughout the Nation, or the effect of that use upon the 

 supply. We know much about supply and use in many locali- 

 ties, but at present these patches of knowledge make up a 

 crazy-quilt pattern; they cannot be brought together into a 

 complete design, owing to the existence of large areas of the 

 Nation for which only meager information is available. 



Nor do we know nearly enough about the relationships 

 which water bears to soils and to plant and animal life. We 

 do not know enough about them either under natural condi- 



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