NO SIMPLE SOLUTIONS
by Ann F. Scheuring, Ernest A. Engelbert, and Robert M. Hagan
We are approaching the end of an era in the West. As with most such
transitions, it is a period of some confusion and conflict.
The era in question is that of seemingly unlimited western water
development. We have begun to realize that there are indeed limits to the water resource
base, that we will have to learn to live within them, and that we must come to agreement
on priorities for use of water supplies in the future. The subject of this book is whether
and how irrigated agriculture in the West will be affected by these new perceptions and
changing conditions in water management.
Water is the lifeblood of the West as we know it today. Much of the
semiarid western landscape has been altered over the past century by human manipulation of
scattered natural water supplies. In many locations irrigated farming has replaced native
vegetation and dryland ranching, bringing new productivity to the land and improving local
economies. With increasingly uncertain outlook for water supplies in the future, however,
new adjustments may have to be made within the agricultural sector. Plans for further
expansion of irrigation may have to be cancelled and some land now under irrigation may
revert to semiarid conditions, unless accommodations to the increasing constraints on
water supply can be made. Both competition for limited resources and changing viewpoints
on social utility challenge former assumptions about the "best use" for water.
Depending on which groups of citizens stand to lose or gain from change,
the viewpoints they express are varied and sometimes contradictory. Where life is
comfortable, people are apt to rationalize and seek technical "fixes" in the
attempt to maintain the status quo. Others struggle to achieve a greater share of
resources and degree of equity by negotiation or legislation. Change is not easy, but in
the period of adjustment in water policy which lies inevitably before us, special-interest
clashes and philosophic disagreements must be tempered by hope for reasonable and
far-sighted action. Water issues in the West encompass such large areas and affect so many
millions of people, that
- 2 -
programs and policies must be truly collaborative to be acceptable.
"There are no simple solutions-only intelligent choices."
What Is the West?
As defined in this volume, the "West" consists of those 17
states west of the 98th meridian, from the Canadian to the Mexican borders. This is half
of the United States in size, an immense and varied region, with its own geographic
peculiarities, history, and ambiance.
The West is no single place: it means different things to different
people, depending on where they live-rolling plains; thundering rivers; rocky canyons;
windswept salt flats; barren volcanic plateaus; marshy swamps; arid deserts; verdant
valleys; forested mountains; ocean surf; shabby towns; comfortable cities; sophisticated
metropolises. To describe the West in its physical entirety is difficult, but let us
The great green checkerboard of the agricultural Midwest gives way very
gradually to the drier Great Plains. The Great Plains states include North Dakota, South
Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. Relatively thinly populated, with much
distance between towns, these states are largely agricultural and produce huge grain
The Great Plains states slope upward to the Rockies. The regular
geometry of cultivated square and rectangular fields gradually becomes browner, larger in
scale, and irregularly contoured in the transition into the Rocky Mountain states of
Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. In these states the mountainous backbone of
North America trends south-to-northwest from Mexico to Canada. Only a handful of cities
appears in the immense mountainous landscape, and agriculture is limited to river valleys.
Spurs and subranges of the Rockies continue west into the states of
Idaho, Utah, and Arizona, merging gradually into the Great Western Desert-the high arid
plateaus and salt flats of southwestern Idaho, western Utah, all of Nevada, and much of
Arizona. In northwestern Arizona the Grand Canyon slashes through the high desert, cut by
the Colorado River over eons of geologic time. Much of this four-state area is still
relative wasteland, though scattered green settlements dot the occasional waterways.
- 3 -
On their eastern borders the Pacific Coast states of Washington,
Oregon, and California are also part of the semiarid western desert, but these states'
climate is transformed by the Sierra Nevada and the Coast Ranges, as well as by the
Pacific Ocean. Western Washington and Oregon and northern California are moist,
mountainous, and thickly forested; rainfall and snowpack can be heavy. South of the
Cascades and west of the Sierra, the 400-mile-long Central Valley of California displays a
rich and varied agriculture, while most of the state's famous cities cluster along the
coast. Southern California is, again, mostly desert except for coastal basins and valleys.
Thus the West consists of several distinct major climatic zones, with
varied topography, soils, and precipitation. With the exception of relatively humid
western Washington and Oregon and northwestern California, however, most of the West is
arid or semiarid, registering on average less than 20 inches of rainfall per year. It is a
region which characteristically depends on irrigation for its agricultural productivity or
is dry-farmed-and where, to meet agriculture's needs, the most intensive water
developments in the world have taken place.
An Epoch of Development
It was the fact of aridity, coupled with the immense distances and
rough terrain, that discouraged early settlement of the region. Though Lewis and Clark
explored the upper reaches of the West as early as 1805, only a relatively few hardy
pioneers pushed through the trials and terrors of wagon train travel in the first half of
the 19th century. The California Gold Rush in 1849, however, set off an explosion in
population movement, and the following decades saw settlement throughout much of the West.
The Homestead Act of 1862 was intended to aid settlement of the U.S. by
offering chunks of the public domain nearly free to anyone who would make a serious effort
to develop a farm or ranch. In the semiarid West, however, it was soon learned that 160
acres-the original amount of land allowed for individual homesteads-was hardly sufficient.
Subsequently the law was amended; in certain areas a homestead claim could be up to 640
acres, or a square mile, because of the low grazing capacity and limited agricultural
possibilities of water-short country.
By 1900, aided by the expansion of railroads, most of the West was at
least thinly populated. The image of the "Old West" changed as its economy
developed from mining and early livestock-grain agriculture to a more diversified base. As
- 4 -
became industrialized, prospectors became figures of the past. In such
states as Wyoming, Oklahoma, and California, oil was discovered in huge deposits, bringing
a new kind of wealth. Water development brought in irrigation, changing farming patterns.
The Depression impelled many dustbowl migrants to seek employment in the
West. World War II also brought large numbers of people to the West for military reasons,
and many of them remained or returned after the war to take advantage of the climate, the
lifestyle, and the opportunities they saw. New industries began to populate the western
states, particularly entertainment, communications, and aerospace in Southern California
and high technology and electronics in other areas.
More than a place, more than a history, the West also represents a
mind-set. In comparison with the humid eastern seaboard and fertile Midwest, the early
West was not an easy place to settle. Perhaps it took special kinds of people to move into
a raw, often hostile wilderness. Western pioneers were sometimes dreamers, sometimes
renegades from polite society; but they saw opportunities for enterprise in a landscape
that offered wealth for those who could take advantage of it. Speculators and ambitious
settlers recognized chances for development of natural resources through ingenuity and
emerging technology. Gold miners in California extracted billions of dollars in gold using
extensive flumes for sluicing and hydraulic hoses for blasting away earth from mineral
deposits. The Mormons in Utah were among the first to build networks of canals for
irrigating farms wrested from the desert.
Public policy also encouraged settlement, development, and even
exploitation. Where water was in short supply, private efforts at impoundments and canals
were supplemented by public funding after the turn of the century. Local water districts
brought water consumers together for development of resources through taxation. Sometimes
decades in advance of their construction, grand plans were suggested for state and federal
dams on the Missouri, Arkansas, and Pecos rivers of the Great Plains; for the Colorado of
the Southwest; for the Columbia of the Northwest; and for the Sacramento and San Joaquin
valley watersheds in California. Boulder Dam, later called Hoover, harnessed the Colorado
River in 1936, and Bonneville Dam spanned the Columbia in 1937. In Montana, Fort Peck Dam
controlled the upper Missouri River in 1940. California's Central Valley Project completed
Shasta Dam in 1944; Garrison Dam in North
- 5 -
Dakota was finished in 1960; and the California State Water Project
brought additional irrigation and power to California starting with Oroville Dam on the
Feather River in 1968.
These gigantic dams and canals, pumps and pipelines to store and
transfer water, are a symbol of today's West. They stand as monuments to human ambition,
in a remarkable blending of engineering and socio-economic vision. Where cattle and sheep
and dryland grain were once the agricultural mode, some western states have diversified
into row and vegetable crops, orchards, vineyards, and a host of specialty crops. None of
this would have been possible without irrigation. In 1977 the 17 western states had 49
million acres of irrigated land, or 85 percent of all irrigated land in the U.S., and
accounted for 91 percent of all water used for irrigation in the nation. Massive
interbasin water transfers are a way of life in parts of the West.
Irrigated agriculture produces a great deal of income. California alone,
for example, has led the nation in cash farm receipts for more than 30 consecutive years.
The state earned about $14 billion in revenues from agriculture in 1981, or about 10
percent of national gross cash receipts from farming. California produces more than 200
different agricultural commodities, many of them grown nowhere else in the nation and in
few other places in the world (almonds, artichokes, Brussels sprouts, nectarines, olives,
prunes, walnuts, to name a few). Approximately 30 percent of California's total
agricultural revenue is now earned in export markets, accounting for nearly 10 percent of
total U.S. agricultural exports in dollar volume. And it is the 8.5 million acres of
irrigated California farmland which produces the bulk of California's farm income.
A New Era
Why does it now appear that the West is approaching a new era?
Resource development over the last century has resulted in a dynamic economy. What signs
suggest that this era of development is ending? Western states are still very young
historically-Arizona was the last continental state to be created, in 1914. With the vast
open spaces and resources yet remaining in the West, one might think that there are
potentially many years of development still ahead. There are, in fact, planned stages of
such massive undertakings as the Missouri River Basin Project and California's State Water
Project not yet under construction.
The physical facts, however, are plain: almost all the potentially good
agricultural land close to water supplies has already
- 6 -
been developed. Moreover, most of the readily available water sources
of the West have been accessed; certainly all of the relatively inexpensive sources have
already been tapped. Few rivers are without dams, and most of the major rivers have whole
series of them. Reservoirs, giant and small, dot the western states. In addition,
groundwater supplies in some areas are being measurably depleted as ever deeper wells draw
up water from aquifers. In some areas land subsidence signals serious sinking of the water
table. In certain locales water quality has also become a problem, with increased salinity
of supplies or deterioration through chemical and other pollution. Thus even the same
quantity of water supply becomes less usable for former purposes. In some cases stream
diversions or impoundments have destroyed or severely damaged formerly abundant natural
wildlife habitat and fisheries.
In addition, economic balances are changing. We have had clear warnings
of coming energy shortages. Given our addiction to massive consumption of fossil fuels,
energy equations for pumping water will change radically as such fuels begin to run out.
Construction and development costs have soared over the decades, and it is likely that
even where new dams and storage projects have been considered technically feasible, they
may not be affordable.
Social viewpoints are also changing. Agriculture may once have been the
hub upon which western economies turned, but as areas diversify, competition between uses
for water increases. Industry has need for water in manufacturing, for cleansing, and for
power; commercial fisheries and forestry require water to sustain their natural base;
cities demand water for residential and municipal purposes; and recreationists value such
water-related amenities as boating, swimming, and sport fishing.
Nor is economic competition the whole story. U.S. society has seen the
rise of what is termed the conservation ethic, under which the natural environment is
valued as much for itself as for its exploitable potential. Some citizens protest what
they perceive as the narrow view that a resource has value only insofar as it can be made
productive for human purposes. They argue that biologic diversity and aesthetic values
must be safeguarded for future generations; that every stream need not be dammed, every
acre planted, every drop of water "used."
Thus we find ourselves at a turning point, and it is not clear how
rapidly we will change course. We know, however, that our course will change. The question
is, to what extent will we choose the direction?
Issues and Choices
At issue in this book is whether irrigated agriculture in the West as
we know it today is truly in jeopardy-and whether, after all, it matters.
We know some things, and can guess at others:
1) In some areas of the West it has taken a massive public investment to
bring surface water onto arid lands which could otherwise not support modern
agriculture-and the subsidy continues in the form of reduced water prices for irrigation.
2) In several areas of the West groundwater supplies are being depleted,
endangering the future viability of farming communities.
3) Agricultural irrigation now accounts for about 85 percent of
developed water put to use in such states as California, but increasing demands for water
for other purposes will in some regions of the West cut into agriculture's current
4) Water quality is deteriorating in some areas, soil quality in others.
Salinization, for example, presently affects large acreages. One answer to salination is
to build drains and use more water for flushing salts away, but this requires both
sufficient water and adequate engineering, and is costly. Another reaction to the problem
is simply to abandon the land because it is too expensive to reclaim.
5) The outlook for developing significant new surface water supplies to
meet increasing demands is questionable, given limited sites for development, soaring
construction costs, and voter skepticism.
6) Certain peripheral effects related to use of water for irrigation
(including loss of fish and wildlife, increased erosion, pollution from agricultural
chemicals in runoff, etc.) suggest that long-term adjustments in water use may be
7) Long-range data on climatic cycles indicate that recent decades may
have been unusually moist in the West, and that extended periods of drought may lie ahead.
Thus even our present estimate of water supplies may be more sanguine than history
Such facts and reasonable guesses would indicate that western
agriculture is, if not in jeopardy, slated for some considerable changes in future. It is
clear that local circumstances vary considerably, and that different areas will have
- 8 -
and pressures. But overall it seems fair to say that irrigated
agriculture in the West may not be totally sustainable under its present arrangements.
We may indeed find that the "blooming of the desert" was, in some cases, an
exciting but temporary phenomenon. Already in a few places abandoned cropland gives mute
testimony to past doomed efforts at cultivation.
Does this matter? Is it important that present-day irrigated agriculture
in the West be "saved?" Are there, in fact, ways to moderate trends and stave
off local crises?
The first and second questions are matters of economic and social
judgment. Western agriculture contributes significantly to the nation's food and fiber
supply, and to the U.S. balance of payments in world markets. Nevertheless, the West is
only part of the larger nation; and if one production region should fail, another may take
up the slack. According to some observers, the primary U.S. agricultural problem today is
over-supply, not insufficiency. But today's balance of supply and demand is not
necessarily that of the 21st century-and national and world populations are growing.
Usually discussions of the importance of agriculture are couched in
economic terms, but a sociological dimension also needs recognition. Part of the ambiance
of the West is its farming and ranching base. Deterioration or destruction of that base
might alter the very character of the region. Again, this is a matter of judgment: does it
matter? Many civilizations as well as regional cultures have come and gone. Is the West in
its present condition uniquely worth supporting? Is the way of life in the West-which many
have admired-one which ought to be preserved?
The third question asks what options may be available to deal with
pressures on agricultural water supplies. These options may be divided generally into four
categories: technical and scientific innovations; management strategies; institutional
arrangements; and modification of lifestyle. These are not mutually exclusive, and may in
fact be used in many combinations, depending on water use situations. We rank them here in
order from the local and specific (on-farm practices) to the very broad and general
Technical and scientific innovations. These may include improved
irrigation technologies, better plant breeding for drought resistance, precise monitoring
of water needs, systematic groundwater replenishment, and other kinds of water-using and
water-conserving techniques. Advances in science and
- 9 -
technology can be a major factor in ameliorating the consequences of
water shortages throughout the West.
Management strategies. Recent years have shown that agriculture
can pursue a variety of management strategies to achieve more efficient water use. These
strategies include appropriate use of crops, careful water scheduling and recycling,
effective employment of machinery, good economic and financial determinations, and all
other aspects of farm decision making involving land and water practices.
Institutional arrangements. Realignment and reorganization of
existing institutions dealing with water, both public and private, may be helpful in
cutting waste and in encouraging collaborative overall efficiency. Building flexibility
into institutional arrangements may also help them respond to local needs more
Modification of lifestyle. Economic sustainability may ultimately
have to be based on lower economic expectations, both among individuals and in society at
large. If nonrenewable resources are being depleted and even renewable resources seem
under great pressure, one logical answer to the problem may be for consumers to be
satisfied with less consumption. An exploitative tendency can be replaced with a
philosophy of stewardship, though this may take years of experience and education. Social
equity also demands commitment to reasonable goals by all citizens, not just by some.
Underlying any options for action to address water problems are certain
basic philosophic principles, all of them related, which can be mentioned here only as
questions for public debate in a democratic society:
· What balance between economic laissez-faire and institutional
regulation is desirable?
· What balance between local control and centralized
decision-making is best?
· Is incrementalism or long-range planning preferable?
Decisions for action (or nonaction) will inevitably reflect answers to
these central questions.
An Overview of this Volume
This book has been designed to discuss the western water situation
from multiple perspectives. Water policy is by its nature complex and must be approached
from several points of view. This book therefore attempts to review economic and social
- 10 -
as well as scientific and technical information relevant to the
assessment of desirable policy. Each main chapter is accompanied by commentaries which
provide additional information or suggest other facets of the subject under discussion.
Part I provides an overview of the facts and conditions of water
availability in the semiarid West, first from the hydrological perspective and then from
institutional and economic perspectives. Chapter 1 gives information on precipitation,
streamflows, and important aquifers in the West, and identifies areas where water supplies
appear critical. Chapter 2 describes water law and institutions which govern water
allocation. This chapter suggests that many western states will have to make some changes
in legal and institutional arrangements to achieve greater efficiency in water use and
management. Chapter 3 reviews trends in competition for water among economic sectors. Many
areas of the West face shifts in water use from one industrial sector to another; this
will have significant impact upon local economies, particularly agricultural communities.
Part II consists of six chapters describing possible alternatives for
satisfying water demands by western agriculture. Chapter 4 explores the alternatives for
developing new water supplies to meet increasing demands. It concludes that the
opportunities for large scale augmentation of present supplies are limited and that no
significant technological breakthroughs are in sight. Chapter 5 examines the possibilities
for increasing the efficiency of nonagricultural water use. While some savings in
urban-industrial uses can be made, the gains will not be sufficient to cover the impending
shortages in agricultural water needs. Chapter 6 describes research on management
strategies to cope with increasing soil salinity in semiarid regions. This increasing
salinity, the most extensive irrigation-caused problem faced by western agriculture, will
call for a diversity of techniques and controls to improve the situation.
Chapters 7, 8, and 9 review current on-farm methods for improving crop
management, land use, and irrigation systems. Chapter 7 discusses crop shifts, use of
drought-resistant crops, and improved production techniques. Indications are that in the
future farmers will have to modify many present cropping patterns to maintain optimum
production with declining water supplies. Chapter 8 reports on proven ways to sustain
arid-land agriculture through water "harvesting," minimum tillage, snow
management, and other practices. An expansion of dry-land agriculture appears inevitable
for many areas of the semiarid West.
- 11 -
Chapter 9 treats engineering improvements that can be made in
irrigation systems. It concludes that massive changes in conveyance and application
systems will provide only a modest increase in net water supply for agriculture.
Part III encompasses six chapters that focus upon the economic, social,
and environmental impacts of limited water supplies in the West. Chapter 10 looks at the
impacts of less water upon regional and local economies. The evidence suggests that while
irrigated agriculture will face some retrenchment, the overall regional economic impacts
should be gradual and minor. Chapter 11 analyzes the impending decline of irrigated
agriculture in the West from the standpoint of the national and international agricultural
commodity systems. Using an econometric model, the chapter concludes that, depending upon
economic and institutional variables, reduced water supplies will result in only slight
food price increases in both the domestic and international markets. Chapter 12 examines
the impact of limited water supplies upon business communities in the West. Increasing
water prices will result in a more intensive agriculture, with consequent implications for
land values, agribusiness enterprises, banking, and other economic sectors.
Chapter 13 discusses what will happen to rural communities if irrigated
agriculture declines. It predicts considerable unemployment and social suffering unless
remedial actions are taken to diversify local economies. Chapter 14 looks at the impact of
the changing agricultural base upon urban communities. Serious unemployment problems for
cities arising from a rural-urban migration are not expected since the numbers of people
affected by a declining western agriculture would be relatively small. Chapter 15
considers the environmental consequences of agricultural land going out of production.
Reversion of land to dryland farming or to nonuse may, unless corrective actions are
taken, result in wind erosion and damage to fish and wildlife habitats.
Part IV outlines some strategies for maintaining agricultural viability
in the West with limited water. Chapter 16 describes some specific technical and
management solutions to water problems from the farmer's viewpoint. The chapter shows that
farmers can be innovative in adjusting to declining and higher-priced water supplies.
Chapter 17 examines how business and financial interests can respond. Emphasis is placed
upon the need for more research and development, upon appropriate systems of financing,
and upon better cooperation between the business and agricultural sectors. Chapter 18
discusses changes in the system
- 12 -
for the allocation and transfer of water supplies. It calls for the
evolution of an economic market system for water rights so that water may move to the
geographical areas and sectors of most valued use.
Two chapters, 19 and 20, address state and national water policies and
practices. The state of Montana's efforts for water resources management are described in
Chapter 19, while Chapter 20 chronicles the shift in federal policy to encourage state
initiative and the deregulation of water markets. The complexities of government policies
and programs for water resources are reflected in both chapters, and the need for
intergovernmental cooperation is emphasized.
Part V provides an integrative summary of the major problems and
findings of the preceding chapters. Subjects are interrelated and placed in perspective.
Issues which need to be resolved are identified. The challenges facing western water
planners are highlighted.
A number of views emerge from this book, although they are not held
equally by all authors:
1) There is no immediate national crisis with respect to water for
2) Some regional impacts due to local decreasing water supplies are
inevitable, and some local and individual situations could become traumatic.
3) It is difficult to predict when future adverse impacts will become
evident because adjustments may still be made.
4) Impacts of declining water supplies may be partly offset by technical
and institutional adjustments, some of which are already taking place.
5) Much uncertainty exists because of economic, political, climatic,
demographic, and other variables.
6) Assessments of water supply and demand, to some extent
circumstantial, may change in the future.
7) Lack of a present crisis does not preclude a future crisis caused by
increasing population, growing world food and energy needs, and possible climatic changes.
8) Since the federal role in water policy appears to be decreasing,
local and private sector initiative may have to fill in any gaps.
9) Several chapters suggest that allocation and transfer of water might
be in some cases appropriately implemented through the marketplace.
- 13 -
These varied views emerging from the chapters suggest how complex and
challenging is the subject of water in the West. Future studies and decisions, as our
authors remind us, must truly be both interdisciplinary and collaborative.
The Future of Water in the West
Why Planning Is Difficult
The summary chapter of this volume suggests several factors which make
rational overall water planning difficult: (1) territorialism and ownership disputes; (2)
uncertainty about key facts; (3) political evolution; (4) an ongoing shift in ethos; and
(5) a certain apathy, or at least a tendency toward inaction, without a crisis for
motivation. All of these are significant constraints on our ability to plan for the
Few of us would disagree, however, that some kind of planning for the
future is prudent, if not without risks. It is clear that some areas of the West will
inevitably experience problems as water supplies become increasingly strained to their
limits. Several areas are already identified as being in "critical overdraft,"
i.e., the condition in which water supplies are being depleted faster than they can be
replaced. There is not much doubt that these areas will likely experience serious economic
discomfort as water becomes more scarce and dear. The rumblings of these dislocations are
already being felt.
We can make certain predictions on what may happen in farming
communities where overdraft trends continue. There will be more financial risk and failure
for farmers; there will be changes in crops and in irrigation methods; some acreage may be
phased out of production. Land values may decline, the tax base may shrink, farm-related
businesses may suffer, communities may decline as the economic base erodes. Water
availability will certainly influence the distribution of income and wealth between areas.
There will be transfer of wealth out of water-short areas into those with more abundant
supplies; the decline of income in one area will be picked up elsewhere.
Agriculture is nevertheless an adaptive system. It can adjust in a
variety of ways to limited water; or water can be transferred among agricultural regions.
Such adjustments need not be disastrous, and some of them are already currently taking
place. To encourage rational conservation activities and to alleviate widespread impacts
from water shortages, it behooves water planners on various levels of government to take
as clear a look at water planning for the future as is possible.
- 14 -
Much of our uncertainty as to prediction stems from the nature of
certain variables-climate, energy, population, and political events, to name only a few.
In many ways our crystal ball is cloudy, and must remain so.
With regard to climate, for example, the commentary to Chapter 1
suggests that the West may be experiencing an unusually moist few decades in the 20th
century, compared to other eras recorded in existing western tree ring data. If climate
altered substantially over a period of years-which is entirely possible-our current
estimates of surface and groundwater supplies would have to be radically revised.
Current international markets also figure prominently into the U.S.
agricultural picture. Disruption of these markets through political events or economic
upheavals could change supply-demand equations drastically, and thus incentives for
Energy, as an essential component in the pumping of water, also remains
an uncertain variable, with the only sure prediction being that prices for fossil fuels
will go up. But how fast? How far?
Population trends are another question mark. U.S. and world population
is sure to expand in the decades ahead, increasing food needs; but we don't know the
magnitude of population expansion to expect, nor do we know how other world regions will
deal with the needs of their peoples. Dire warnings have been made about world population
trends and future food needs, but even the experts disagree.
It is difficult to make long-range plans when there are so many admitted
uncertainties, but we know that we should at least be prepared to cope rationally with
emerging possibilities. Western water planners will deal best with an uncertain future if
they are able to direct their activities along reasonably logical lines.
Needs for Action
Many of the chapters in this volume explicitly or implicitly recommend
certain kinds of action to be taken on a number of fronts. Briefly, we condense and list
these recommendations here:
· Research and information gathering on consumptive and
environmental water needs, including more agreement on methodologies of analysis to be
· Widespread adoption of efficient and cost-effective water
management and conservation techniques, including conjunctive use of ground and surface
waters in basins.
- 15 -
· Investigation of feasible new water developments in certain
· More availability of capital for long-range water management
goals, at both local and regional levels.
· Appropriate provision for environmental and social needs in
water management and use.
· More innovation in interorganizational planning, particularly
at the local level.
· Removal of institutional barriers to economic freedom in
· More collaboration between federal government and states in
management of projects and coordination of policies.
· Better cooperation and more compromise among interest groups
representing water users.
These calls for action seem to fall into two general categories: the
gathering of more information and knowledge on such matters as environmental
interrelationships, technical and scientific innovations, management possibilities, and
economic systems; and the building of more flexibility and cooperation into institutions
and organizations concerned with water.
Those who live in the western United States have both the opportunity
and the challenge to show other water-deficient areas of the world how limited water
resources can be managed not only for regional well being, but for the ultimate benefit of
A New Stage of History
Unlike any other era in human history, we of the later 20th century
have the capacity to look at our globe as a whole. The astronauts who first looked back on
the Earth from space were struck with both the beauty of the planet and its vulnerability.
Suddenly we know that the Earth is fragile; we have begun to realize that there are limits
to natural resources, and to our human activities.
Our era is crucially different from those which have gone before. We
have greater scientific and technological power-both constructive and destructive-to
change our surroundings. We have more knowledge at our fingertips, more ability to gather
new information, more power to integrate and transmit it. We realize, and can learn from,
mistakes of the past. Our electorate is less likely to foot costly projects, more likely
to question motives and intent, and more likely to recognize their own interests. As we
grapple with the problems of the present, we have a sense for the complexities inherent in
our choices. Perhaps it is that consciousness of complexity which will allow us to become
a more mature society, no longer committed to simple
- 16 -
solutions, but able to take a wise and balanced view of the resources
of our planet-of the West-not only as they will serve us in the short run, but as they
will sustain us over time.