Water conservation

“ It is of the greatest importance that water supplies be conserved by storage reservoirs and other means, but this conservation should be accomplished in such a way as not to menace health or offend the eye or destroy the beauty of contiguous landscape. The impounding of waters without regard to preserving natural water-falls, streams, and other scenery, is a mark of a commercial and selfish age, and is a procedure that cannot be tolerated in a highly developed society. ”

“ The forests are natural reservoirs. By restraining the floods and by replenishing them in drought, they make possible the use of water otherwise wasted. They prevent the soil from washing, and so protect the storage reservoirs from filling up with silt. Forest conservation is, therefore, an essential condition of water conservation. ”

“ We have no frigid climate to prepare against, but we have possible drought, and our first and greatest consideration should be the conservation of water for irrigation.
This water conservation is exceedingly important thing. Men do not think, and the waste is enormous. When the rain falls it runs into the gully, from the gully to the creek, from the creek to the river, from the river into the sea; and then in the dry season water is deplorably scarce.
I once asked a young squatter from the New South Wales side of the Murray "Have you got a garden?" ”

“ Although we have learned that we cannot change the quantity of rain that falls in any place, we can influence the way in which it runs back to the sea. This in turn affects the lives of people. We can store water in reservoirs, and by building canals have it to use on the land during the summer. We [Pg 47] can also keep it from flowing back to the sea as rapidly as it otherwise would, by leaving uninjured the covering of vegetation which has been spread over the mountain slopes. ”

“ We recognize in the reclamation of our arid lands one of the greatest factors in the future development of the State, because of the million acres of fertile lands that can and should be reclaimed by irrigation. Recognizing all vested rights, we encourage the conservation, storage, and equitable distribution of natural and flood waters of streams, artesian wells, springs, rainfall, and other sources of water supply. ”

“ That is the view we take of it in the South; and in taking that view we hold to the National idea that water, being one of those natural resources which needs conservation in respect to its greater and wiser use, ought to be controlled by the Federal Government. Water is one of those natural resources that man can do nothing to add to or diminish in quantity ”

“ Such a forest will absorb a large amount of water during a rain-storm, and allow it to seep down gradually into the streams instead of running off in torrents, overflowing the banks of the streams, destroying growing crops and other property, and scouring the soil from the watersheds to be deposited in the lower levels of the streams or at their mouths, shoaling channels or forming bars in harbors. Generally speaking, therefore, every step taken in the conservation of forests is of value in stream conservation ”

“ When the people's governments at or above the county level organize wetland conservation and restoration, they shall take into full consideration the endowment and carrying capacity of local water resources, rationally allocate water resources, ensure basic water use for wetlands and maintain the ecological functions of wetlands. ”

“ Good reservoir sites are rapidly becoming an important factor in the development of our water resources, now that the summer flow on most streams is over-appropriated, and the laws make possible the protection of stored water in transit along natural stream channels to the place of use. ”

“ Except where flood control projects, navigation channels, ports or other water projects occupy wetlands in watercourse management areas and in flood detention and retention basins, the entity that has been approved to occupy important wetlands in accordance with the law shall, in light of local natural conditions, restore or rebuild the wetlands until they reach the original size and quality. ”

“ The problem of stream conservation in the southeastern States is very closely connected with both timber conservation and soil conservation. The ends to be sought are a diminution of the volume of water carried by the streams in their flood stages, and an increase in their volume during their low stages. Everything, therefore, which tends to retard the flow of the rainfall into the streams is a conservative agency. ”

“ The cities of the United States have expended $250,000,000 in waterworks and nearly as much more in land for reservoirs, and for canals for conveying the water from these reservoirs to the cities. The better managed systems protect the drained lands from erosion by planting forests or grass and the water is completely controlled, so that all the water, even the storm overflow, is saved. There is very little waste in these city water systems until it comes to the consumer, where, except when it is sold through meters, the waste is often great. ”

“ The holding back of these flood waters in the upper part of the rivers, and so preventing these overflows, is termed storage of waters.
In still other regions the rainfall is abundant, and the land low-lying. Large areas are always covered with water. Such lands are called swamps or bogs, and when drained, they become the richest of agricultural lands. Irrigation, storage and drainage are the three methods employed to make waste lands valuable and useful. The land is saved or reclaimed, so all these methods of balancing and distributing the water supply are called reclamation. ”

“ It is clear that the problem of the conservation of our natural resources is an interlocking one. If the forests are conserved in the rough lands and mountains, the streams will have an even flow, their navigability will be easily maintained, they will give a uniform water-power; the erosion of the soil will be lessened; the bottom lands along the stream will not be flooded. If the water-powers are developed, the consumption of coal will be lessened. ”

“ Irrigation Interests.—A great industry like that of agriculture demands that in all regions where irrigation is carried on the source of the water supply be protected. The future existence of the farms, and to a large extent of the States themselves, depends upon the conservation of the water supply. The forest areas are largely the reservoirs in which the waters are controlled and given out to the adjacent irrigable districts. ”

“ It is increasingly evident that the Federal Government must in the future take a leading part in the impounding of water for conservation with incidental power for the development of the irrigable lands of the and region. The unused waters of the West are found mainly in large rivers. Works to store and distribute these have such magnitude and cost that they are not attractive to private enterprise. Water is the irreplaceable natural resource. ”

“ Occupation of wetlands of national importance is prohibited, except for major national projects, disaster prevention and mitigation projects, projects of important water conservancy and protection facilities, or wetland conservation projects, etc. ”

“ The prevention and reduction of air and water pollution will remain a critical task of resource conservation. Air and water quality come under pressure from such activities as fertilizer and pesticide use. ”

“ It would have thrived, however, to a far greater extent and much suffering, involving general living and business conditions, would have been avoided and a better foundation provided for future generations, if, in addition to the above-named developments, attention had been promptly and thoroughly given to the control and conservation of flood water. ”

“ After the streams leave the highlands they steadily diminish in volume, the loss being due in part to direct evaporation, and in part to percolation in the sands from which the waters are eventually evaporated. In like manner irrigating canals starting near the mountains and running far out into the valleys and plains rapidly diminish in the volume of flowing water. Looking to the conservation of water, it is best to select lands as high along the streams as possible. ”

“ Since the enactment of the Clean Water Act in 1972, we have achieved remarkable improvements in many of our Nation's water resources. Twenty years ago, less than half of America's rivers supported fish and shellfish or provided wildlife habitat. ”

“ If you’ve lately swum in a lake, happily drunk a glass of water straight from the tap, or sat down to a good fish dinner, you can appreciate what the law has accomplished.
Vital to the Clean Water Act’s project is the protection of wetlands—both those contiguous to covered waters and others nearby. ”

“ Indeed, today we know that the health of aquatic ecosystems must be examined holistically, to determine how various forms of human activity affect water quality. We know that we must protect entire watersheds that feed into our rivers, lakes, and coastal waters. We also recognize that, by preventing pollution at the source, we can protect watersheds and avoid the high economic and environmental costs of treating wastes and restoring ecosystems after pollution has already occurred. Moreover, experience has shown us that our actions must be based on sound science. ”

“ Since water sustains life, effective management of water resources demands a holistic approach, linking social and economic development with protection of natural ecosystems. Effective management links land and water uses across the whole of a catchment area or ground water aquifer. ”

“ Water is essential to every form of life on Earth. Indeed, this vital substance unites our planet's ecosystems, the miraculous yet fragile relationships in nature that sustain each other as well as all human activity. Recognizing the importance of our precious water resources, the United States has made a firm commitment to protecting their physical, chemical, and biological integrity. This year, the 20th anniversary of the Clean Water Act reminds us that we are all stewards of our water resources, and, as such, we are responsible for their preservation and wise use. ”

“ Protecting aquatic ecosystems Water is a vital part of the environment and a home for many forms of life on which the well-being of humans ultimately depends. Disruption of flows has reduced the productivity of many such ecosystems, devastated fisheries, agriculture and grazing, and marginalized the rural communities which rely on these. Various kinds of pollution, including transboundary pollution, exacerbate these problems, degrade water supplies, require more expensive water treatment, destroy aquatic fauna, and deny recreation opportunities. ”

“ If you have to choose between a bright, clear stream which may be polluted at some point above, and a pond full of dead leaves and peaty matter, but which you can inspect all around and find free from contamination, choose the pond. Even in the woods it is not easy to find surface waters that are surely protected, and streams particularly are dangerous sources of water supply. ”

“ Can they be made to feel that their houses require to be kept clean and white-washed, that their drains need flushing, that their streets need widening? Are they likely to realize the need for preserving the wells and tanks that supply drinking water free from impurities of all kinds? ”

“ As the streams and soil become more and more contaminated by unsanitary conditions, it is only in rare cases that safe water can be secured naturally. When wells or streams become low, or when streams are quickly flushed by heavy rains, invariably there is danger that the water which they contain may be impure. Care should be taken to provide an abundance of water, and that used for household purposes should be treated in such manner as will make it entirely healthful. ”

“ All the arrangements of rural husbandry, and we might say of civilised occupancy of the earth, are such as necessarily to increase the danger and the range of floods by promoting the rapid discharge of the waters of precipitation. Superficial, if not subterranean, drainage is a necessary condition of all agriculture. There is no field which has not some artificial disposition for this purpose, and even the furrows of ploughed land, if the surface is inclined, and especially when it if frozen, serve rather to carry off than to retain water. ”

“ We draw the waters from our great number of immense reserve storage reservoirs, which are directly diverted to them from the run-offs of heavy river water flows. Saving us from overflowing rivers, flood control, levee construction, inundation damage, and disasters, at the same time increasing generating power of our dams. We have an efficient drainage system for our tropical crops in rain-soaked lands, excess waters of which also flow into these reservoirs. Sun rays are available to treat our vegetation, when necessary. ”

“ The study of the opportunities of reclamation of the vast extent of arid land shows that whether this reclamation is done by individuals, corporations, or the State, the sources of water supply must be effectively protected and the reservoirs guarded by the preservation of the forests at the headwaters of the streams. The engineers making the preliminary examinations continually emphasize this need and urge that the remaining public lands at the headwaters of the important streams of the West be reserved to insure permanency of water supply for irrigation. ”