The Importance of Hydrology While Planet Earth is endowed with abundant water.

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4 Organic Act of 1897. Signed into law on June 4,1897, by President William McKinley for the purpose of timber production, watershed protection, and forest protection. The goal was to use federal lands to preserve wood and water supplies for the long-term benefit of the public. Of specific interest was “securing favorable conditions of water flows”.

Weeks Act. Passed by the US Congress on March 1, 1911. It authorized the Secretary of Agriculture to “Examine, locate and recommend for purchase . . . such lands within the watersheds of navigable streams as . . . may be necessary to the regulation of flow of navigable streams . . . ”. These lands were primarily in the eastern United States.

Flood Control Act of 1937. Signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on August 28, 1937, in response to major flooding throughout the United States in the 1930s, culminating with the Super Flood of January 1937, the greatest flood recorded on the lower Ohio River. The act provided funds for the initial construction of projects selected by the Chief of Engineers, including construction of floodwalls, levees, and revetments along Wolf River and Nonconnah Creek for protection of Memphis, TN, and modified the Yazoo River project. Wilderness Act of 1964. Signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on September 3, 1964. It created the legal definition of wilderness in the United States, and protected some nine million acres of federal land. The goal was to protect watersheds and clean-water supplies vital to downstream municipalities and agriculture, as well as habitats supporting diverse wildlife, including endangered species, while logging and oil and gas drilling are prohibited. Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. Signed into law on October 2, 1968, by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Rivers are designated by the U.S. Congress or the Secretary of the Interior and are preserved in their free-flowing condition and are not dammed or otherwise impeded. A total of 156 rivers had wild and scenic status in 2004. Selected rivers are preserved for possessing outstandingly, remarkable scenic, recreational, geologic, fish and wildlife, historic, cultural, or other similar values. A second area is the treatment of municipal and industrial wastewater, as well as mitigating the effects of stormwater runoff from nonpoint sources, such as farms, homes, forests, etc. These programs fall under the Clean Water Act. Also included in this category is the cleanup of sites where hazardous and toxic wastes were discharged, primarily in the subsurface, during the years when such dumping was allowed. These programs fall under either CERCLA or RCRA (described below). The cleanup of current and historical contaminants is a challenge in this, and many other industrial and developing countries. Many poor countries are faced with the options of either destitute populations, or the discharge environmentally destructive compounds. Nonpoint source issues related to stormwater runoff are manifested by erosion and sedimentation, as well as pathogens, heavy metals, herbicides, pesticides, and excessive nutrients. A new tool for establishing linkages between both point and nonpoint pollution abatement programs are watershed assessments, which inventories the watershed from the perspective both sources of pollution, as well as the importance of water supply protection. While providing clean, abundant, and inexpensive water supplies is clearly linked to the cleanup of wastewater and the prevention of contamination, inadequate linkages between the myriad federal water quality legislation makes integrating these programs difficult. Example types of legislation include: Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act. Passed on April 27, 1935, that allowed the government to pay farmers to reduce production so as to conserve soil and prevent erosion. The act was intended to conserve soil in the High Plains by planting trees and native grass - soil that created the huge dust bowls during the 1930s. Soil conservation in the Deep South was also targeted. Three years after the Act was adopted, soil erosion had dropped 65 percent. Clean Water Act. Passed in 1972 and regulates discharges to “navigable waters”. The act introduced a permit system for regulating point sources of pollution, and created a new requirement for technology-based standards for these discharges. Safe Drinking Water Act. Passed in 1974. Prior to the 1970s the protection of basic air and water supplies was a matter mainly left to each state. During the 1970s, responsibility for clean air and water to shifted to the federal government. Discovery of organic contamination in public drinking water and the lack of enforceable, national standards persuaded congress to take action. The act applies to public water systems, but does not cover private wells or bottled water. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. Enacted in 1976. It is the principal law governing the disposal of solid waste and hazardous wastes. Congress enacted the law to address the increasing problems from these wastes, setting national goals for protecting human health and the environment. Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act. (CERCLA or Superfund) was passed in 1980 to clean up abandoned hazardous waste sites. The act provides authority to clean up releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances that may endanger public health or the environment. The law authorized the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to identify parties responsible for contamination of sites and compel the parties to clean up the sites. Where responsible parties cannot be found, the Agency is authorized to clean up sites itself, using a special trust fund. Finally, a third category of issues is the protection of habitat of threatened and endangered species. Federal endangered species legislation is a controversial area of CHAPTER 1. THE IMPORTANCE OF HYDROLOGY 5 law related to protecting aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Within Georgia, the River Corridor Protection Act provides for limitations on riparian zone development along the larger rivers and streams in the state for the purpose of protecting habitat for aquatic and riparian habitats. Additional acts include: National Environmental Policies Act. Enacted in 1970 to establish a national policy promoting the enhancement of the environment and also established the President’s Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). NEPA’s most significant effect was to set up procedural requirements for all federal government agencies to prepare Environmental Assessments (EAs) and Environmental Impact Statements (EISs). EAs and EISs contain statements of the environmental effects of proposed federal agency actions. Endangered Species Act. Passed in 1973 to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a “consequence of economic growth and development untempered