The Conservation of Our National Water Resources

Abstract

AN interesting paper on the above subject was read by Mr. W. R. Baldwin-Wiseman before the Surveyors' Institution on January 27. This may be considered as the complement to the paper read by the author before the Royal Statistical Society in 1909 on the increase in the national consumption of water. In the earlier paper Mr. Baldwin-Wiseman dealt with the enormous increase in the consumption of water, and the reasons for such increase, and he referred very shortly to the necessity for the creation of a central authority which should be charged with the duty of water conservancy in its widest application, and, for that purpose, should engage in a close and exact study of the water resources of the country. He now deals with some of the methods adopted by different countries to conserve and use in a systematic way the water which they possess. It is rightly pointed out that the particular use of water to which greatest attention is required varies in different countries. In the United Kingdom the water supply for domestic purposes and trade uses is all-important, and with it must be coupled the prevention of stream pollution. In Italy, Switzerland,Norway, and Canada water-power development is predominant. In Egypt, India, parts of Australia, and certain regions of the United States and Canada irrigation claims first place. In Germany and Belgium inland navigation is of extreme importance, while Holland devotes attention to drainage and reclamation.