Evolution of Institutional Structure for Water Resources Planning

In the quarter of a century since the presentation of Schad's 1976 paper on the historical development of water resources planning in the United States at the Society's Bicentennial Convention in Philadelphia the nation has experienced a gradual change in water resources planning. Multi-objective and river basin planning with a primary focus on the use of water to promote economic development had peaked in the mid 1970s. Forecasts of lower total demands for water and a shift in concern to environmental quality as a primary objective led to planning based on federal regulaliton for the remainder of the century. The change has not come about in a linear progression, but in a series of ad hoc steps. The Water Resources Council's (WRC) Principles and Standards for multi-objective planning were replaced by Principles and Guidelines in which economic development was the governing objective, with environmental quality as a secondary, less important objective. The emphasis on federally led planning, with coordinated federal and state efforts by the WRC, also shifted to require increased non-federal cost sharing for planning of traditional water resource programs. At the same time the technological attack on water pollution legislated by the 1972 Water Pollution Control Act Amendments also engendered large expenditures for pollution abatement through regulatory approaches. As we proceed into the third millennium new emphasis on planning to protect our water infrastructure from terrorist attack and to sustain vital services must also become more prominent in planning for water management. In addition, as overall demand begins to again increase later in the21 st century a return to multi-objective planning including water quality and environmental attributes is needed to effectively use our finite water resources.