According to the Bible, on the second day God gathered the waters so that dry land would appear. Before that time all was surface water. Surface water was all. With the appearance of land, the earth's hydrology became complicated. Groundwater thus formed, and a quandary begotten that challenges hydrologists and lawmakers to this day.

Beginning October 1974, the University of Arizona will become the fifth terminal station in the Office of Water Research and Technology (OWRT) network for retrieval of the Water Resources Scientific Information Center (WRSIC) bibliographic data base. States to be served by the University of Arizona are: Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, and Washington.

At a meeting in Tucson several weeks ago, a Phoenix-based representative of a Federal agency lamented over the lack of information concerning artificial groundwater recharge in Arizona; yet very thorough research in this regard has been accomplished over the past ten years at the University of Arizona. Hopefully in the future, through the means of this newly initiated Newsletter and the Project Information Bulletins, water-related research efforts and results, other than those competently handled by the Agricultural Extension Service and others, will reach the attention of a greater number of interested users.

A vital part of the Arizona Water Information System program has been the cataloging of water resources projects conducted within the State of Arizona. To date over 1,000 projects have been identified and placed on computer file for retrieval.

On January 3, 1974 notices will go out soliciting proposals for water resources research projects to be funded under the Allotment Program of the Office of Water Resources Research, U.S. Department of the Interior. Director Sol Resnick of the University of Arizona Water Resources Research Center, through which Allotment funds are administered, is requesting that draft proposals for research to be funded for FY 1974-75 be submitted to his office no later than February 15, 1974.

The water requirements of coal conversion processes are a matter of increasing concern to geologists and water managers as the coal industry prepares to exploit coal reserves to meet national energy needs. A Geological Society of America symposium on the "Geologic Aspects of Coal Conversion" featured several papers estimating the amounts of water needed for processing.

A number of highly interesting research papers were presented April 19-20 at the Joint Annual Meeting of the Hydrology Section, Arizona Academy of Science, and the Arizona Section, American Water Resources Association. The sessions were held on South Campus at Northern Arizona University. Abstracts of papers given at the AWRA Section meeting will appear in the next two issues of the Arizona Water Resources Project Information Bulletin.

Seven new water resources research projects have been approved for funding during FY1974-75 by the Office of Water Resources Research, U.S. Department of the Interior, according to Director Sol Resnick of the University of Arizona Water Resources Research Center. Two other projects, previously approved, have received funding under a supplemental appropriation for the last quarter of FY1973-74. These projects are all part of the OWRR Annual Allotment Program. In addition, six Allotment projects funded during the past year have been granted continuing support for further research during the coming year.

The Secretary of the Interior recently approved the establishment of an Office of Water Research and Technology (OWRT) under the Assistant Secretary for Land and Water Resources. Dr. Warren A. Hull, formerly Director of the Office of Water Resources Research, has been appointed Acting Director of OWRT. The functions of the Office of Water Resources Research and the Office of Saline Water will be combined in OWRT. The basic objectives of the former offices, OWRR and OSW, are not changed by this reorganization. However, it will add a new dimension of water resources development to assure .the systematic and orderly application of research to our serious water problems. The university community, especially the water research institutes and their cooperating university parties, will continue to be relied upon heavily for the basic research program under the presently authorized allotment, matching grant and Title II programs. Desalination research and development will remain major responsibilities of OWRT. Added to these, however, will be a broader spectrum of development initiatives directed toward the more critical water-related problems.

The Water Resources Scientific Information Center (WRSIC) bibliographic data base is now available for retrieval on the Atomic Energy Commission's RECON system through the University of Arizona, which is the fifth terminal station in the Office of Water Research and Technology (OWRT) network. States being served by the University of Arizona are Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, and Washington.