have either one of these and not the other, and the reason for that is is that in wet years when youave lots of water, you can maybe recharge the aquifer. in dry years when you don't have a lot of surface water you can extract water from the ground-water system. so, there's kind of a sustainable quantity. the primary issue that cities, particularly in the southwest, are having to look at is the idea of sustainability. in other words how much water does it take to sustain a certain lifestyle a certain quality of life? narrator: maddock hopes to use his models to educate people about the effects of falling water tables and to help deter overpopulation of these areas in the future. dr. maddock: the research that we're doing on surface-water/ground-water systems is tied in to the management of a regional water supply which, in turn is connected to a state or country water supply, which, in turn, is connected into international issues involving water supply so that the things that we study in our area ultimately lead to producing water-management capabilities that are used in other places th