288 CONSERVATION OF GROUND WATER 



of new wells as well as limitations on pumpage from existing 

 systems. Not too much may be accomplished by recharging, 

 since so large a part of the recharge areas is heavily built up 

 in residential, commercial, and industrial establishments. Lit- 

 tle land area or space is now left for any major artificial re- 

 charge program, though the possibility is still being investi- 

 gated. 



Major Elements in Ground-water Management 



The examples above are, in general, representative of the 

 various difficulties with ground water in this country, and 

 have been classified in previous chapters as reservoir, pipeline, 

 and watercourse problems, or as miscellaneous difficulties of 

 varying significance. They illustrate and dramatize the major 

 elements encountered in sround-water situations over the 

 country. The remedies suggested should shed light on the 

 kind of general management of this resource which would 

 brings the highest rate of return over the long run. 



In most instances the major conservation values would be 

 obtained from a management program which would control 

 withdrawals. The price we have paid for the growth of the 

 country, as far as ground water is concerned, is the decline of 

 well-water levels, increased contamination, and more costly 

 pumpage. Perhaps this was a necessary price to pay for rapid 

 growth. If measures for rigid control had been in successful 

 operation from the beginning, development might have been 

 seriously retarded. In the balance sheet of benefits to the total 

 population, restrictions on withdrawals 50 years ago conceiv- 

 ably might not have been the part of wisdom. At any rate, 

 many areas with difficulties may alleviate them materially by 

 reducing withdrawals at specific wells or in specific areas, or 

 by obtaining water from less developed reservoirs. 



A second significant management effort lies in providing for 

 better natural and artificial recharge of important reservoirs. 

 This can only be accomplished by a comprehensive under- 



