For over a century, the federal government has constructed water
resource projects for a variety of purposes, including flood
control, navigation, power generation, and irrigation. While most
municipal and industrial water supplies have been built by
non-federal entities, most of the large, federal water supply
projects in the West, including Hoover and Grand Coulee dams, were
constructed by the Bureau of Reclamation (Department of the
Interior) to provide water for irrigation. Growing populations and
changing values have increased demands on water supplies and river
systems, resulting in water use and management conflicts throughout
the country, particularly in the West, where the population is
expected to increase 30% in the next 20-25 years. In many western
states, agricultural needs are often in direct conflict with urban
needs, as well as with water demand for threatened and endangered
species, recreation, and scenic enjoyment. Debate over western
water resources revolves around the issue of how best to plan for
and manage the use of this renewable, yet sometimes scarce and
increasingly sought after, resource. Some observers advocate
enhancing water supplies, for example, by building new storage or
diversion projects, expanding old ones, or funding water
reclamation and reuse facilities. Others emphasise the need to
manage existing supplies more efficiently through conservation,
revision of policies that encourage inefficient use of water, and
establishment of market mechanisms to allocate water. Recent
proposals to expand the Upper Mississippi River-Illinois Waterway
(UMR-IWW) a major transportation route for products moving to and
from Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin have met
with significant controversy. Some of this controversy centres on
the cumulative environmental effects of the current navigation
system and the proposed expansion. The Upper Mississippi River
System (UMRS), which includes the navigation channel and
surrounding floodplain supports an unusually large number of
species for a temperate river. The UMR-IWW navigation system alters
UMRS habitat and contributes to a decline in the abundance of some
species. For example, locks, dams, and other channel structures
inhibit the movement of fish between and within river segments;
fill side channels, backwaters, and wetlands with sediment; and
suppress plant growth by reducing water clarity.
General
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