β Scribed by Nathan Buras
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
This monograph consists of papers presented at the North American meeting of the Water Management Sector Group of OECD held in July 1970 in USA and Canada. The purpose of the meeting was to examine management techniques being developed in OECD member countries, with special reference to nine probiems considered to be of major importance. These nine problems were formulated as follows: (I) What criteria gobern the choice of approach-hydrographic or regional-for water management planning purposes? (II) What is meant precisely by "objectives" when used in relatron to water management? (III) What procedures exist for choosing among a variety of alternatives which may be used to achieve objectives?
(IV) How is the problem of divided jdrisdicrion handled, such as exists when a river runs through several States. provinces or countries? (V) Hc..v are problems arising from divided administrative responsibilities among various oodies of authorities dealt with'? (VI) How are the respective objectives of the many special interest groups made a part of the total water management program? Are formal or informal organizational structures used to integrate these interests? Can differences be resolved by economic methods'? (VII) What means can be employed to obtain agreement on a water resources management program of benefit to the region as a whole. if small or vested interest groups are seriously affected? (VIII) How are information services integrated so that the appropriate persons habe the information they need fordecision making?(I)<) What approaches are taken to determine the apportionment of costs for water management among those who benefit-in other words, who pays? The many papers, covering a broad range, have kn grouped in five parts: (1) North American water policies and programs (seven papers): (II) North American presentations: basin and regions1 programs (thirteen papers); (III) Water resources research in North America (four papers); (Iv) Joint United States-Canadian programs (two papers); (V) Presentations of Eurowan countries and Japan: illustration of approaches to solving basic problems in water management (twenty papers). The appendices include the US Water Resources Planning Act, the US National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, the Canada Water Act, and details of four river basins in the United States and in Canada.
Most of the papers focus on the fundamental issue of how to relate economic and social purposes to water management. This issue is perhaps best illustrated in the determination of the objectives of the North Atlantic Regional Water Resources Study:
"An "objective" . . . is . . . an objective related to people but it is a social
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