A WORLD WATER CONFRONTATION Of the 1.1 billion people living in the rural areas of the free world's developing Nations, nearly 800 million had no water service at all in 1964, according to the Federal Committee on Water for Peace. Of the urban population, 140 million-an imposing 40 percent-also had no water service. In fact of the 1.5 billion people in those developing countries, only 170 million, or one person out of nine, had water piped to his habitation. I am sure that such drastic water situations need the bold confrontation of everyone who is able, especially the world's top experts in water related fields, and all willing leaders. This month's Water for Peace conference the first such international confrontation in history brings such people together for a courageous first step. The key of a free world bringing about the solutions is well expressed by President Johnson: "Massive cooperation-International effort." We recommend a furtherance of this program for the consideration of active citizens everywhere. Those who attend the conference will be given a survey of the existing world problems, and they will be asked to go forward cooperatively with water developments large and small-developments which will feed the hungry and create economic betterments which will be powerful factors for peace. It is with confidence in the Bureau of Reclamation's experience, both in the western parts of this country and abroad, that our experts will participate in this great conference and contribute in such water efforts as planning, economics, construction, conservation, research and training. FLOYD E. DOMINY Coming to Grips With Water for the 21st Century by Honorable HUBERT H. HUMPHREY Vice President of the United States TH HE struggle to capture water and turn it to human use is as ancient as man himself. In our modern world, the effort is not only still necessary-it is even more urgent. For growing food-for producing the elementary goods of life-for life itself-water is essential. Men have fought wars over this vital commodity. Civilizations have perished for lack of it. A precedent-shattering move toward solving the water supply problems of many nations, and our own-probably the first in international history-is the "Water for Peace Conference" in Washington this month. This great assembly is for the mutual benefit of all nations. Preconference response has been gratifying. We are encouraged that this event does have outstanding prospects for increased international cooperation and exchange of knowledge in the wise conversation and use of priceless water supplies. Conservation and wise use are, of course, the crux of mankind's problem. As a renewable resource, the quantity of water in the world is not decreasing. The problem is providing it clean and uncontaminated where and when men need it. Existing needs will double by the end of the century. A population explosion has caused upward revision of many previous estimates as to water needs. This means that within the coming decades, we have a tremendous job of planning and ground work if we are to be ready for the new century. Honorable Hubert H. Humphrey. The Vice President of the United States". shared in the privations of drought and Depression of the late 1920's and early 1930's,” said one biographer about the author of this article. That Vice President Humphey is an ardent conservationist is understandable. From a typical American boyhood and sturdy family roots nourished in the arid Great Plains, he gained the practical experience and deep understanding which led after service as a mayor and for 16 years, a U.S. Senator, to election to the Nation's second highest office. He knows well the crisis of water which he so effectively describes on these pages. Although ours has been a nation of wealth and dynamic progress, we have tended to be indifferent to this natural resource as the wellspring of human progress. We have moved ahead economically to a large degree at the expense of our easily available supplies of water. A day of reckoning approaches unless we remember that no other natural resources can be developed without this one. It is an irreplaceable commodity-better living calls for more and more of it. Thousands of gallons of water are required to produce most of the items we buy on the market. Operations Curtailed This became very meaningful in the Northeast where both industry and dense population are heavy users. Drouth in recent years in that part of the country has dramatically demonstrated critical shortages. Many industrial plants curtailed operations or shut down during the worst months. Water disappeared from restaurant tables. Lawn sprinklers went dry and automobiles went unwashed. Many individuals stored containers of water in their homes as a safeguard against a total drying up of the taps. Ironically, while the reservoirs for the world's largest city were nearly dry, the Hudson River flowed sluggishly alongside Manhattan, laden with sewage and industrial waste and totally unfit for slaking the mounting metropolitan thirst. Although the Hudson is formed from fresh streams in astonishingly beautiful country, population gradually crowded in around it; much of its beauty was ruined and its abundant fish and wildlife were shamefully replaced with flowing refuse and effluvia. This was the distressing result of widespread civic inertia. Fortunately, there is hope for the future in a long-range Federal study looking toward a co United States Department of the Interior, Stewart L. Udall, Secretary Bureau of Reclamation, Floyd E. Dominy, Commissioner Issued quarterly by the Bureau of Reclamation, United States Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C. 20240. Use of funds for printing this publication approved by the Director of the Bureau of the Budget, January 31, 1966. For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402. Price 30 cents (single copy). Subscription price: $1.00 per year (25 cents additional for foreign mailing). operative clean-up of the Hudson and restoration and development of the great potential in the entire Hudson River Basin. Similar steps are being planned in the Potomac where President Johnson has directed an all-out effort to demonstrate that our streams can be cleaned up and made whole and useful. Other areas of the United States have taken major steps to correct local pollution problems. No time should be lost. I firmly believe the solution to our water supply problems is one of the keys to the future welfare of most parts of our country. It is a vast undertaking. It will require united and cooperative effort at all levels of government as well as strong participation by every segment of the community. Stepped-up Undertakings The effort to purify salt water for domestic use has been stepped-up tenfold following Federal efforts to stimulate development. Fascinating also is the practical research the Federal Bureau of Reclamation is undertaking to tap the "rivers in the sky." If established principles of weather modification can be applied to induce additional precipitation from moistureladen clouds, it will open up a whole new horizon of water availability to fill reservoirs and keep our rivers and streams flowing. Fortunately, nature renews the purity of water when it falls as rain or snow. But renewing second-hand water artificially is also possible. I learned of an example of used water being remarkably transformed in the town of Santee, Calif. As Santee grew in the dry hills above San Diego, its resourceful officials turned to the purification of sewage water as a possible source to augment short water supplies. A $700,000 bond issue was the financial start for a treatment process that now supplies the city with a new lake clean enough to be used as a swimming pool. Santee also disposes of sewage for 10 percent less cost than transport |