Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-09-27
BY ROGER ID. GREENE

America today Is locked in /
gigantic seesaw battle over ons
Of natures most abundant re.
sources water.
With the huge increase IL
population and the roaring post.
war industrial boom. the result.
ing scarcity Of water in many
sections of the country finds
farmer pitted against farmer fol
irrigation water. city againsl
city and State against State fol
domestic supplies, and industry,
biggest consumer Of all strug-
Cling TO md enough water 70
survive.
Competition Is keen and In
some areas critical" q Hoover
Commission task force told Con-
gress In . midsummer report.
I'VE have reached q point
where water stringencies are be-
coming more frequent and more
numerous. The Increasing de-
mand for water supplies. to-
gether with increasing pollution
Of streams. Is beginning to cause
major concern even In humid
areas.
Future Darkened
The long-ranee outlook is ial
from bright. Experts say thai
BY 1875. only 20 years hence, in.
dustrial and domestic usage Il
expected to require 4 total In.
crease Of about las billion gal
Ions equivalent to the flow
Of about II Colorado rivers.
Even the supply we have To-
day is put to hard usage. The
water we drink and use for cook
ing is often reclaimed" water
filtered and chemically purified
that has run through sewers.
I'm the upper Ohio watershed
during periods OF low river flow,
one quart of every gallon 81
water has been flushed through
Q sewer" says the Hoover Com
mission task force.
In Ohio Mahoning River, along
q 25-mile stretch near Youngs-
town. so many steel mills and
other industrial plants use and
refuse the river water that at
times it has become too hot to
be employed for cooling purposes.
Every gallon Of the Mahoning's
average flow of 500 million GAL
Ions daily Is drawn into use three
TO Is times. The river tempera-
ture averages 95 degrees in sum-
mer and has reached as high as
$50 degrees.
Factories Look Elsewhere
For the first time American
industry now uses more water
than farm irrigation, and short
ages In some sections Of the
industrial East have caused fac
tories to look elsewhere for bet
ter supplies.
Industry's vast thirst is Illus
trated by the fact that 1t requires
5000 gallons of water to pro-
duce q ton Of steel, 500. 900 gall
Ions for Q ton Of aluminium, $780,
600 gallons for q ton Of synthetic
rubber and $1,000 to make o new
automobile. The water Is used
mostly for cooling.
Scores Of far-seeing commune
ties already are expanding their
water supplies by building costly
pipelines. dams. reservoirs and
farm ponds. and are probing
deeper into the earth than they
have ever had to 60 before to-
reach water.
Ohio is drilling 1000 wells a
month. Baltimore has Just COM
pleted o new reservoir holding
% billion gallons Of water. Dallas
viii foot the bin itself for q dam
reservoir costing $40 million.
Oil-rich Texans are talking Of
importing water from the Mis-
River--so dire Is the
shortage in the Lone Star State.
And some dreamy eyed Califor-
mans have suggested towing ice
bergs UP from the Antarctic to
bolster CALIFORNIA; dwindling,
water supplies.
Southern California. the Ma
tons fastest-growing region. ex-
poets to reach . population Of
10 million BY 1875, but experts
say its present water supply will
only 81 million,
Colorado Battle
And In Colorado there's q Bit
ter fight over water between
East and West. The Western
slope country around Grand
Junction, booming uranium cap
itai. is battling to prevent Dem
yer from tapping the Colorado
River basin via a tunnel through
the Rockies.
What Is the Government do
ing to alleviate the situation?
The story Of the Federal Recla-
nation Bureaus multibillion-
dollar water projects is too long
to be recounted here In detail.
But since 1924, when the
Government FIRST entered the
reclamation picture, the United
States Treasury has spent more
than $l4,250. 900 600 on water
projects, In addition, Congress
has authorized projects totaling
s18.5 billion. Other projects,
proposed but not yet authorized,
Would bring the grand total to-
more than $84 billion.
The Government now is
around $3.50 million q
year to develop water resources
such as flood control, irrigation,
navigation and hydro-electric
power. Major projects include:
Worlds four biggest and high
est concrete dams-Hoover Dam
in Arizona Nevada (726 feet);
Shasta Dam in California t602
seet): Hungry Horse Dam in
Montana (SHA faef1 and Grand