This was the Assyrian system of 3000 years ago interconnecting the Tigris and the Euphrates, and named Hammurabi the Abundance of the People, after the founding monarch. The highly efficient irrigation system made possible by government control, eventually decayed into disuse once the power of government weakened. This list is offered to remind us that environmental uses are only one set of such uses for water. Like all other uses, environmental uses assume higher worths the greater the value we place on environmental assets. And that value tends to increase as these assets become more scarce.
Water conservation contains all three elements.
Environmental Goals We need to ensure that water is allocated appropriately to these sometimes conflicting uses. These are the issues before us. To set the stage, let me give vent to some cynicism. Such statements imply that usage is a one and only event. In fact water usage has several dimensions, most of which can occur several times with the same molecule.