IN SEARCH OF A NATIONAL WATER POLICY

摘要

As the Nation moves through the first decade of the 21st Century it faces significant challenges in dealing with its water resources. Extended drought, inadequate water for forecast long-term municipal and industrial uses, ports operating at the margins of channel depths, annual flood losses in the United States continuing to increase, degradation or disappearance of non-federal wetlands, dwindling efforts to protect over 1,000 threatened or endangered plants and animals, miles of rivers that do not meet water quality standards, impaired coastal waters and estuarine areas, and major infrastructure renewal shortfalls are among the challenges. Meeting these challenges will require careful action by those charged with managing these water resources. Given this situation it would be logical to ask, "What policies exist to guide the Nation's efforts to plan and manage its water resources and are these policies adequate?" To provide a forum to discuss the nature and extent of federal water resource policies, in September 2002, with the support of 10 federal water agencies with interests in water resources, and 22 non-governmental agencies (NGOs), AWRA convened a National Water Resources Policy Dialogue that brought together 267 persons from 42 states and the District of Columbia. Based on the success of the first Dialogue, AWRA will convene a second Dialogue in Tucson, Arizona, in February 2005.