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Show affected by many factors, such as character and frequency of storms, topography, permeability of soils and under- lying country xock, condition and use of land surfaces, temperature and evapo-transpiration, and dams and other works of man for storage and control of surface and ground waters. Optimum use of the water resources and related land uses requires an understanding of a host of facts adequate to planning, design, and operation of projects and programs. The over-all amount of water withdrawn from reser- voirs, rivers, lales, streams, and underground sources and utilized in one way or another in the United States is estimated at 200 billion gallons per day. This daily consumption of water represents a substantial increase over the amount utilized 10 years ago, and, at the present rate of increase, the consumption of water in this country will be doubled in the not too distant future. There is call for a full realization of the trends in growing needs of the American civilization, and with it, foresight of what those needs will be, and provision for finding the facts that will be required to develop resources accordingly. Sufficient confidence in the future is called for to begin and to enlarge present programs adequate to these needs. In many paits of the country water in amounts and quality has already become the limiting factor in growth of farming, of industries, and of domestic facilities to support the American standard of living. Greater de- ficiencies and economies in making use of local waters in highly developed and established sections will be required if these areas continue to expand. Congress early recognized Federal responsibility in a statute of 1807 providing for examinations and observa- tions of banks and shoal areas along the Atlantic Coast of the United States. Legislation in 1819 and 1820 appro- priated small sums to the military service of the United States to make surveys of tributaries of the Mississippi River. From this small beginning, Federal responsibility has broadened in scope so that today many agencies are engaged in the collection of basic data, and in making surveys of the relation's resources. From the act of 1819 and succeeding legislation, the Army Engineers were authorized to make surveys of navi- gable streams, including stream-flow measurements and other investigations necessary for planning and proper consideration o>f all uses of the streams affecting naviga- tion. In 1888, the Army Engineers were further author- ized to establish water gages and make daily observations on the Mississippi River and its tributaries. The act of January 21, 19 27, further authorized surveys of the prin- cipal rivers of the Nation. These were published as "308 Reports," whicli contain plans for improvement of naviga- tion in combinations with flood control, power, irrigation and other resources development. Functioning minder the organic act of February 10, 1807, the Coast and Geodetic Survey of the Department of Commerce conducts hydrographic and topographic sur- veys, including- tide and current observations, geodetic control surveys, and investigations to determine variation in latitude and longitude. The Department of Agriculture was established by the act of May 15, 1862 and was authorized to engage in re- search, regulation, planning, education, and action pro- grams. Many later acts extended the authority and re- sponsibilities related to water resources, such as the Weeks Forest Purchase Law of March 1, 1911, for the protection of watersheds of navigable streams, and the Soil Conserva- tion Act of April 27, 1935 (16 U. S. C. 590a) to provide permanently for the control and prevention of soil erosion and thereby to preserve natural resources, control floods, prevent impairment of reservoirs, and maintain the naviga- bility of rivers and harbors and to conduct surveys, investi- gations, and research. The Flood Control Act of 1936 among other purposes authorized surveys and operations for runoff and water- flow retardation and soil erosion prevention on watersheds. The Geological Survey of the Department of the Interior, established by the act of March 3, 1879, was given respon- sibility for classification of public lands, examination of geological structure, mineral resources, and products of the national domain. In an 1894 statute, Congress made funds available to the Survey for gaging streams and de- termining water supply of the United States. Included within its duties is the classification of public domain lands for power purposes. The act of October 1, 1890, established the Weather Bureau with the responsibility to collect hydrologic and meteorological data and to forecast floods and frosts. Pre- viously the Signal Corps and the Smithsonian Institution had collected meteorological data. The Reclamation Act of 1902 established the service that became the Bureau of Reclamation, and amendatory and supplementary legislation authorized various investi- gations and surveys in the preparation of reclamation projects in the Western States. Under the Federal Power Act of June 1920, the Federal Power Commission makes investigations and collects data concerning the utilization of water resources in any region to be developed, their relation to the water power industry, and its relation to other industries in interstate and foreign commerce, and concerning the location, capacity, costs of development, and relation to markets of power sites. The Commission also has extensive power to investigate and to secure information regarding ownership, operation, management, and control of all facilities for generation, transmission, distribution, and sale of electric energy, however produced. Congress by the act of May 18, 1933, created the Ten- nessee Valley Authority, which was "charged with the broadest duty of planning for the proper use, conservation, and development of the natural resources of the Tennessee River drainage basin and its adjoining territory for the general, social, and economic welfare of the Nation." Through the Water Pollution Control Act of 1948, the Public Health Service derives authority to conduct a pro- gram of research and to collect and disseminate informa- tion relating to water pollution, its prevention and abate- ment, and to make available the results of specified work conducted by it and cooperating agencies. The growth of national importance of the water and re- lated land resources and the numbers of people involved in the development of these resources can be suggested by a listing of the types of works involved. They include such as the following: 1. Flood control.-Storage reservoirs, levees, floodwalls, flood channel improvements, floodways, spillways, and pumping stations. 328 |
