Increasing conflicts among competing uses for water, such as drinking water supply, irrigation, hydropower, etc., have arisen from the pressing needs for social and economic welfare and development. At the same time, the more extensive and intensive uses of water resources have caused their degradation and increased the hazards associated with the resulting undesirable levels of water quantity and quality. These problems will be carried by civilization into the next millennium and unless society can develop and apply needed solutions to various aspects of the problems, then human life, health and well-being are in severe peril, and society may become too impaired to adequately meet the yet unforeseen challenges of the next millennium.