OCR Text |
Show supplied with adequate quantities of pure domes- tic water, their wastes carried away by more water; in the arid and semiarid West, deserts have been made to bloom; and large and small dams provide for flood control, hydroelectric power, and irrigation. All these things are the achieve- ments of human ingenuity and enterprise-the work of many pioneering individuals, many men of technical skill, and the cooperation of local, State, and Federal Governments. On the debit side, man's activities in exploiting nature also have been destructive. We have used water badly, without proper respect for its nat- ural cycle, turning it from a friend to an enemy. We have destroyed forests, leaving barren, de- nuded mountainsides from which rain water and melting snow pour unchecked; we have over- plowed and overgrazed our lands; we have dan- gerously increased soil erosion, allowing precious topsoil to be carried to the sea, muddying our streams, filling up our reservoirs, and increasing the damage from floods. We Must Conserve and Develop These are serious wastes. If they continue un- checked, they will impoverish us and our chil- dren. But it is the strength of a free society that it can recognize and correct its mistakes. It is dynamic and flexible. In all parts of the coun- try-among1 engineers, conservationists, farmers, householders, and other ordinary citizens;-there is a growing recognition that we must conserve and develop, as well as use, our natural resources. And in conservation and development, as in use, water is the key resource. Now, midway in the twentieth century, two facts have become compellingly clear. The first is that water is limited in relation to the many and varied needs for its use. These needs will grow in size and complexity as the population grows and as industry develops. More water for domestic use is needed by our growing towns and cities. More water must be used to bring new lands into production in the West. New industrial techniques, such as those developed in the chemical industries, synthetic fuel production, and the harnessing of atomic power, bring with them increasing demands for water. We can no longer be wasteful and careless in our attitude towards our water resources. Not only in the West, where the crucial value of water has long been recognized, but in every part of the country, we must manage and conserve water if we are to make the best use of it for future development. The second fact we can now see clearly is that the management, conservation, and use of our water resources is inextricably bound up with the management, conservation, and use of our land and that both are essential to our expansion as a Nation. Floods cannot be controlled by build- ing higher and higher levees, or permanently by building dams, if other things are neglected. The big streams are fed by small streams, and water control inevitably leads us back to the proper conservation of forests and agricultural land. The farmer who holds the rain water by ter- racing his fields, the group of farmers who band together to form a soil conservation district, play an indispensable role in water management. The preservation of our forests, our mountain lakes and streams, and our wildlife sanctuaries has ample justification in providing healthful sport and recreation for the refreshment of the human spirit; but it is also an essential part of water conservation and management. In short, if we do not manage and conserve water, we suffer losses, some of them irreparable, in our other natural resources. If we do not manage and conserve these other resources, we shall lose the usefulness of our water: it will rush to the sea, robbing instead of enriching us. The Source of Policy A well-rounded national water resources policy to meet this need must be a broad reflection of the lives of the people on their farms, in their villages and cities, in their regions, and in the Nation as a whole. Civilizations are built on a combination of water, land, and people. When |