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Research Aimed at Solving Water Supply and Quality Problems

Published: Aug 24, 1981. Publicly Released: Aug 24, 1981.
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Highlights

The United States has an abundant water supply, but its geographical distribution and availability often do not match demand. GAO believes that an overall comparative assessment of conservation and augmentation technologies is needed to determine which have the most potential for solving water supply and quality problems at the lowest cost and with the least risk. There does not appear to be a correlation between the potential of some technologies and their relative level of Federal funding. While some appear to have low potential and high funding, others appear to have high potential and low funding. Factors to be considered in assessing technologies' potential include: (1) an overall comparative assessment should be preceded by regional and local assessments, because potential solutions may differ among regions and localities; (2) all regional and local water problems and potential solutions should be identified; and (3) consideration should be given to the impact of technical, environmental, legal, and social obstacles. GAO believes that formal planning can assist technology development and increase the likelihood of user acceptance. Without research plans, results may sit idle, programs may be prolonged with no determination as to whether objectives have been satisfied, and technical, environmental, legal, and social obstacles may not be adequately addressed and dealt with. A plan for developing a particular conservation or augmentation technology should be a formal mechanism which identifies the tasks needed to develop the technology and encourage user acceptance. GAO believes that planning could help tie many agencies' applied research projects into meaningful programs to conserve or augment water supplies. GAO examined past and current Federal efforts at coordinating water-related research and the need for an organization to be specifically assigned this responsibility. GAO believes that the Water Resources Council, a Federal entity responsible for assessing the adequacy of the Nation's water supplies, should be assigned this responsibility. However, if problems cited by agencies are not overcome, GAO believes that establishing a water resources research committee with representatives from the major agencies involved in water research could be an effective alternative.

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