|
|
Article: River Basin Planning
- Article from:
- Water:Science and Issues
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
River Basin Planning
The concept of coordinated planning of water resources throughout a river basin dates back to the late nineteenth century. In the 1870s, John Wesley Powell recommended using major river basins as administrative units in the
western United States. President Theodore Roosevelt was also an early proponent of the concept, stating that "each river system from its headwaters in the forest to its mouth on the coast, is a unit and should be treated as such."
In 1957, geographer Gilbert White published an influential paper in which he cited three central ideas to river basin planning: the multipurpose dam and reservoir, the basinwide program, and comprehensive regional ...