Many U.S. citizens believe that thanks to our advanced technology and enlightened public policy we can consume without risk the food and water that are readily available to most of us, as citizens of a rich and privileged country. Some of those who subscribe to this buoyant and comforting attitude, however, may have lately experienced second thoughts. Because of various recent and widely reported incidents, many people are feeling concern about the quality and safety of our food and water. This is not surprising; some of these incidents have resulted in serious, widespread sickness, even death.

Recently very much center stage and in the spotlight, water conservation seems to be an idea whose time has come. If, however, we define water conservation as the careful use of water to better maintain current supplies, then water conservation is not a recent development. What is relatively new is our current perception of water conservation.

The FY 1978 Water Resources Problems and Research Budget Projections Report for the Colorado River - Great Basin Region has been released. The réport was prepared cooperatively by the water resources research institutes of Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming, which constitute the Colorado River - Great Basin Consortium of Water Research Institutes and Centers (CWIC).

Proposals for FY 1978 water resources research under the Title I Annual Matching Grant Program of the Office of Water Research and Technology (OWRT) should be submitted by Nov. 1 to Director Sol Resnick of the University of Arizona Water Resources Research Center. The tentative deadline in Washington, DC, is Dec. 1, 1976 for proposals to be funded in FY 1978 (Oct. 1, 1977 through Sept. 30, 1978). Accordingly, the Nov. 1 date has been set in order to allow time to process and forward proposals to the OWRT/ Washington.

The following articles outline recent, selected University of Arizona Water Resources Research Center (WRRC) research findings along with actual or potential applications to water resource problems in Arizona or, perhaps, in other arid-semiarid regions. These findings were prepared initially for the U.S. Department of the Interior Office of Water Research and Technology.

The Yuma Desalting Test Facility is operated daily, around the clock, to develop, test and evaluate equipment and techniques which may be coupled for later use in a large desalting complex to be built to treat water discharged from the Wellton-Mohawk Irrigation and Drainage District.

Gila Bend, Arizona, is the site of the world's largest solar-powered irrigation system, a system capable of pumping up to 10,000 gallons of irrigation water per minute.

Eleven new Arizona water resources research projects have been funded for Fiscal Year (FY) 1978 by the Office of Water Research and Technology (OWRT), U.S. Department of the Interior. Three other projects funded during FY 1977 received continued support through FY 1978, according to University of Arizona Water Resources Research Center (WRRC) Director Sol Resnick. Eight of the new projects and the three continuing investigations will be funded under the Annual Allotment Grant. Priorities for selecting these proposals from among the 21 submitted were set by representatives of the Arizona Water Resources Committee, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the following State of Arizona divisions: Water Commission; Water Quality Control Council; Land Department; Game and Fish Department; and Health Services Department.

The deadline for public comment on the Carter administration's proposed water policy program has been extended 90 days from the original Aug. 20th cut-off date. The extension was requested by the Western Coalition, a group of 30 senators representing 15 western states, including Arizona. Coalition members felt that the first deadline did not allow time for adequate, thoughtful public comment on or thorough analysis of the proposed federal water policy program.

"The Nation's Water Outlook to the Year 2000" was published recently by the Library of Congress Congressional Research Service. Forecasts may include a general nationwide projection and regional projections.