278 CONSERVATION OF GROUND WATER 



wise contribute to ground-water supplies. The U.S. Geologi- 

 cal Survey estimates that in Nevada and Arizona this natural 

 waste is roughly about 3 million acre-feet a year, and that 

 careful removal of such vegetation in these two states would 

 probably salvage about 1.3 million acre-feet. In the 17 western 

 states, salvaging half the annual waste (estimated at 20 to 

 25 million acre-feet) by nonbeneficial plants would provide 

 water to a depth of 3 feet for some 1 .7 million acres. Such clear- 

 ing operations would be methods of land management aimed 

 chiefly at increasing water yields. 



Another example of the potentially competitive relation of 

 certain uses of the land to water development is: over extensive 

 areas in the United States major increases in soil water to 

 recapture land values could only be accomplished at the ex- 

 pense of recharge to ground water used for other and com- 

 petitive purposes. Put simply, in such areas there is no more 

 water than there is, and conflicts over various uses of the 

 available water and of land are inevitable. With the varying 

 interests of the public, it is not surprising that where water is 

 in short supply, as in the West, almost every water use has 

 created an issue. Legislative action and court decisions have 

 been required to settle suits between users of water for irriga- 

 tion, industry, public supply, power, and fish and wildlife. 



That these competitive relationships and other conflicts 

 exist does not mean, however, that the conservation of ground 

 water and of other resources for our own and future genera- 

 tions is an impossible task. Nor, as Dr. Thomas has shown in 

 many examples, does conserving ground water imply storing 

 away this resource for some remote nonuse. On the contrary, 

 a conservation program, in providing for the planned man- 

 agement and wise use of nature's resources, obviously must 

 take into account the realities and demands of day-to-day liv- 

 ing. With a growing population the emphasis in our country 

 necessarily has been on developing our resources. Our con- 

 cern, therefore, should be to achieve sufficient foresight and 

 control over this development, so that it may proceed wisely. 



Where the total supply of the water is relatively constant, 



