The Water Resources Act (I963) in England and Wales has brought about some valuable innovations in the field of water-resource management. Among them the charging scheme is particularly challenging, for it attempts to assess the effect of each abstraction upon the general water resource and upon other legitimate users. The purpose of this article is to assess the charging scheme as a management tool, and to appraise in particular the manner in which it may be used to guide decisions in the use of water for spray irrigation. The major findings of the study point to certain difficulties in managing the present and future demands for spray irrigation. The policy adopted by most river authorities to require future irrigators to provide private sources of supply appears highly satisfactory, though substantial demands are still made by direct abstractors operating under prescriptive licences of right. This latter group, whose demands must be met (at least in moderately dry years), may seek augmentation of river flow to safeguard their licences. It is shown that their perception of alternative management techniques is not readily influenced either by the charging scheme or by institutional guides. It is also shown that the imposition of the charging scheme still favours the direct abstractor over the private source irrigator, though in both cases the cost of water bears little relation to its true value except for low-value crops such as grass. It is suggested that predictions for irrigation demand may be overestimated as a result of the charging scheme, though it is also contended that the Act does not provide sufficient guides to help the irrigator search for alternative means to improve crop yield. GEOGRAPHERS are showing an increasing interest in the means of allocating scarce resources, particularly in the case of conflicting multiple use of an important natural resource. Although this field has traditionally belonged to the engineer and economist, geographers are now realizing that they can make a significant contribution to the efficient management of resources (G. F. White, 1962; I. Burton and R. W. Kates, 1965; White, in prep.). A combined approach has reached its most sophisticated form in the field of water-resources management, particularly in the United States (National Academy of Sciences, National Research Council, 1966, 1968). One effect of this wider approach to the management of resources has been a change in the meaning of conservation. The old concept of preservation or protection from use has been replaced by a much more positive and dynamic attitude which emphasizes efficient multiplepurpose management. Each category of demand upon a scarce resource must be made as efficient as possible so that maximum benefits are derived with the minimum of wastage. To achieve this, each particular user is encouraged to consider various methods of utilization, each of which should provide the same benefits though utilizing the resource to different extents. This may lead to a change in the management of the resource, which, though it may involve additional private cost to the user, results in important social benefits. There are considerable advantages in evaluating the direct and indirect consequences of different uses of resources, both upon the individual and upon the community in space and time, and in relating the costs of the use of resources more directly to those who benefit. Examples include controlling development in flood hazard areas to reduce flood damage (Kates, 1962), improving effluent