ABSTRACT
The water in our oceans, lakes, rivers, and streams supports a wide range of uses. Water can be withdrawn for drinking and other domestic purposes, for industrial processes, or for irrigation. It can support fish populations for commercial exploitation and recreational fishing. It can be used for boating and swimming. And it can be used to flush away the wastes from factories and municipal sewers. To varying degrees, most of these uses depend on the quality of the water. Yet the use of a body of water as a waste receptor can seriously degrade water quality and impair—even preclude—other uses.
