This broad review of the development of US water resource policy analysis and practice offers perspectives from several disciplines: law, economics, engineering, ecology and political science. While the historical context provided goes back to the early 19th century, the book concentrates on the past 60 years and features a discussion of the difficulty that has generally been encountered in bringing the disciplines of economics and ecology into collaboration in the water resource context. The book explores the evolution of water related analytical capabilities and institutions and provides illustrations from case studies, concluding with recommendations for research, institutional change and action. Though designed to be a background textbook for interdisciplinary graduate seminars in water resources planning and management, it is accessible to interested lay readers and those who have policymaking or implementation responsibility but lack a technical background. The book will appeal to students and faculty in water policy, economics, and engineering, and in interdisciplinary programs organized around water resource problems and questions. Policy makers and general readers will also appreciate this non-technical introduction.

Estimates of water withdrawals enable the depiction of trends in total water use for the Nation among different geographic areas, categories of use, and sources over time. Water-use information is a critical component of water budgets, which are essential to surface- water and groundwater availability studies. This information is also essential to accurately understand how future water demands will be met while maintaining adequate water quality and quantities for human and ecosystem needs across the United States of America. Data is represented in text abstracts and analysis, tables, chart graphics, and photos presented throughout. The estimates contained within this volume focus on water use for eight (8) categories: Public Supply * Irrigation Self-supplied Domestic * Livestock Aquaculture * Industrial Mining * Thermoelectric Power Related products: Other products produced by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) are available here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/agency/us-geological-survey-usgs Check out our Water Management resources collection here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/catalog/water-management