Modern man is beginning, painfully, to learn that he can continue to enjoy basic resources like water only through careful planning and control. This book indicates what social scientists have contributed in the past and seeks to encourage their future participation in this critical area.

The study first describes the background of water use planning and defines the specific problems of control. Then five social scientists, representing the fields of anthropology, economics, geography, political science, and sociology, review the contributions their disciplines have made and discuss the problems they can do most toward solving. Concluding chapters offer additional commentary and provide an overall evaluation of the present situation in water resource management and suggestions for more meaningful participation by social scientists.