Water Resources Management in a Federal System: A Comparative Analysis

摘要

The objectives of this study were to review existing information on the organization of state, regional, and local water supply systems, determine the existing pattern of state water management institutions, analyze the evolution of substate water supply organizations in the state of Florida, determine the existing pattern of water resources decision making and intergovernmental relations in North Carolina, and evaluate a set of institutional and organizational alternatives suitable for consideration by policy makers in North Carolina. The study identifies four major types of state water resources management organization: unified, federalist, home rule, and fragmented. A survey discovered that state regulation of consumptive water use is becoming universal. Local officials generally do not rank water supply problems as serious ones, and prefer that the state continue to play a facilitative role in water areawide approach, and consider county government as a viable institution for water allocation among competing urban interests.