Availability of primary or juvenile water for ordinary uses

Progressive depletion of the water supplies of many of the desert valleys of the Southwest, both because of recurrent droughts and because of overdevelopment, has focused increasing attention on the possibilities of developing supplementary water supplies from sources that are immune to drought, or at least whose development will not interfere with an existing supply now being utilized. Among the possibilities that are the subject of research by scientific organizations and other agencies are conversion of sea water and other saline water, salvage of water now used by phreatophytes (water-loving plants) of low economic value, and induced precipitation (rain-making).