ABSTRACT
Water systems have features that are unique among all the renewable resource systems, especially the interdependence among users of the resource. A river basin consists of a complex of directly connected drainage basins tributary to a main river. Under natural conditions, all of the water in the river originates in the basin. From the administrative and legal viewpoints, there are advantages in defining the river basin administrative unit along the boundaries of political units, recognition being given to economic connectedness, too. The easiest way to suggest the complexity or river basin planning is to consider a small problem in arithmetic that represents the number of possible combinations of projects that might constitute the development plan for the basin. Water quality interdependencies link closely to the flow interdependencies but warrant added emphasis. The industrial sector may buy its raw materials from the agricultural, forestry, or mining sectors, all of which use large quantities of water in their processes.
