214 CONSERVATION OF GROUND WATER 



The prospects are that our requirements for water for these 

 purposes will increase considerably, and the National Security 

 Resources Board estimates that total water use in the nation 

 may double in the near future. As pointed out by Sayre: 2 



Each new industry will require water and some of them, such 

 as the application of nuclear fission as a source of energy, and the 

 hydrogenation of coal and oil shale, will require enormous 

 amounts. No figures are available for the probable use of water in 

 harnessing atomic energy, but fragmentary information shows 

 that it may be very large. The quantity of water needed for pro- 

 ducing 10,000 barrels of oil per day by hydrogenation of coal is 

 estimated at 5.5 to 6.5 million gallons per day, depending on the 

 process used. Of this amount about 80 per cent is consumed. This 

 is the requirement for the operation of the plant only. To this 

 figure must be added the amount that will be needed for the 

 municipalities that will spring up to house the employees of the 

 plant and for the associated service industries. Plans are going 

 forward for large additional developments of irrigation in the 

 West. In the East, especially on Long Island, supplemental irriga- 

 tion to provide optimum moisture conditions for optimum growth 

 of crops has spread very rapidly in the last few years. Inasmuch as 

 the increased productivity that results from supplemental irriga- 

 tion frequently makes it possible to finance the cost of the installa- 

 tion out of the first year's profits, it is to be expected that this 

 activity will spread rapidly throughout the humid parts of the 

 country and that eventually supplemental irrigation of suitable 

 crops will be practiced wherever local sources of irrigation water 

 are available. 



Water is also used for generation of hydroelectric power, 

 waste disposal, navigation, and recreation. It is estimated that 

 about 1,000 billion gallons a day flows through existing hydro- 

 electric plants, which is equivalent to about 80 per cent of 

 the runoff from the United States (of course some water flows 

 through more than one plant); the potential development of 

 hydroelectric power is estimated to be about six times as great 

 as the present development. Waste disposal requires large 



2 Sayre, A. N., "Water Resources of the United States," U.S. Geol. Survey, 

 Mimeo. rept., pp. 3-4, 1949. 



