This document, which examines various topics and issues related to the management of freshwater supplies, is organized into 6 main sections. These sections include: (1) the water cycle and renewable supplies, providing data on distribution of such supplies by continent and average annual per capita runoff produced in selected countries with projections for the year 2000; (2) competing uses for water, providing data on world water use (total and per capita) for 1940-80, growth in irrigated areas (by continent) for 1950-82, and estimated water use in selected countries (total, per capita, and sector) for 1980; (3) the environmental and economic consequences of mismanaging water supplies, indicating the status of excessive water withdrawals in selected regions; (4) the augmenting of dependable supplies, providing data on reservoir capacity in selected countries for 1970 with projections to 1990 and listing selected major river diversion projects; (5) water conservation in the United States and foreign countries; and (6) priorities for a new water economy. One suggestion offered is that planners and educators dispel the myth that water conservation is exclusively a short-term strategy to alleviate droughts and other immediate crises. (JN)