OCR Text |
Show is somewhat greater and is the source of both surface and ground water that flows toward the valleys and lowlands. The doctrine of appropriation is thus an adaptation to an environment of water deficiency. It has the advantage, wherever or whenever the water supplies are insufficient for all needs, that it provides a specific basis for apportioning whatever supplies are available. The committee therefore feels that the doctrine of appropriation is not only accepted by the citizens and the courts of the state, but that it is scientifically acceptable as a basis for water rights under the conditions of water deficiency that characterize the state. The question asks also whether the doctrine of appropriation " as contained in Utah law" is the most desirable for Utah- in other words, are general policies clearly stated and in sufficient detail for effective administration, and if so, are these policies the most desirable for Utah? Some answers to this broad question are included in the discussions of the other four assigned problems. 2. How can underground water resources be most effectively inventoried and administered for the benefit of the state? Before the rights to the use of any resource can be determined, apportionment made among various users and properly administered, the extent of the resource must be known. In regard to underground water, the amount, quality, location and method of utilizing the water must all be known. Because of the wide variability in the annual precipitation and streamflow feeding Utah's ground- water basins as well as their capacities, etc , such knowledge is dif *- ficult to obtain. However, using modern methods it is possible for trained scientists to determine with reasonable accuracy where we are within any given climatic cycle and the extent, depth, and yield of a ground- water basin. Thus, the first requirement is to develop and maintain an adequate inventory of the ground- water resources. - 12- |