- Value [1] Water
- Water is a precious and finite natural resource, it is essential to all life and vital to ecological, economic and social
well-being.
- Value [2] Equitable Allocation
- The disparate distribution of water resources among watersheds poses a challenge to equitable allocation and use.
- Value [3] Ecological Integrity and Biological Diversity
- Prudent water management requires a commitment to ecological integrity and biologic diversity to ensure a healthy environment;
to a dynamic economy; and to social equity for present and future generations.
- Value [4] Pollution Prevention
- The most effective way to eliminate pollution is to prevent it’s occurrence.
- Value [5] Integrated Management
- Integrated management is crucial for sound results. When making water resource management decisions: • Link water quality
and water quantity with the management of other resources • Recognize hydrological, ecological, social and institutional systems
• Recognize the importance of watershed and aquifer boundaries • Avoid shifts in pollution from one medium to another and
avoid creating a problem in a different location or environmental medium • Push the boundaries of technologic possibility
while balancing economic constraints
- Value [6] Land Management
- Improved land management is essential for improving the condition of water resources. • Decision-making should be based on
sound scientific principles and an understanding of the relationship between land and water resources • Effective integrated
management requires coordinated planning and action by all levels of government including federal, regional, state, and local
levels • Existing planning efforts can provide the foundation for improving land and water resources management
- Value [7] Stewardship
- Individually and collectively, we are responsible for the stewardship of our water resources through their judicious use and
management. • An informed public is vital to an improved environmental future • Public–private partnerships and enhanced cooperation
are necessary for improved results • Successful decision frameworks are those flexible enough to encourage and adapt to innovations
and new knowledge
- Value [8] Laws and Legal Structures
- Existing legal structures and laws provide the framework in which management decisions are made.
- Value [9] Policies and Legal Requirements
- Decision-making should give due consideration to the policies and requirements in existing laws and the legal rights of persons
and entities potentially affected by water management decisions.
- Value [10] Legal Authority
- Authority to make integrated management decisions shall be derived from existing law as applicable, and may entail modifying
or enacting new laws.
- Value [11] Legal Structures
- Legal structures should be utilized that facilitate managing water resources within entire basins, watersheds, and aquifers,
rather than on the basis of political jurisdictional boundaries, while continuing to respect the sovereignty of states and
their political subdivisions.
- Value [12] Sustainability, Feasibility, and Natural Viability
- In water resources management, preferable actions are those that are structured to accommodate and be consistent with: • Preservation
and enhancement of ecological integrity • Sustainability • Feasibility • Resilience to natural variability
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