Meeting Future Water Requirements Through Reallocation

Abstract

Expanding water requirements for agricultural, municipal, and industrial uses in the U.S. have been met largely by developing surplus water. Reallocation of water, however, is becoming increasingly necessary, as readily available sources are depleted and surplus water becomes more expensive to develop. This article discusses the scope of the water problem in the U.S., and examines reallocation as a method of solving this problem.

Urban Water: Multiple‐use Concepts

“…Projections of water requirements that recognize price-demand relationships show that reallocation can compete with new supplies developed from storage and imports. 2 In urban areas, to an extent greater than in other water-supply systems, there has been considerable agitation for complete metering of all water con sumers. 3 The costs of metering which include reading, billing, and mainte nance are a substantial percentage of the revenues derived from the sale of water, perhaps as much as 25 per cent of gross revenue.…”