The report said the utility company was using community partnerships, watershed management, and flexible payment options to boost access to clean water.

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Timber is merely one of many uses to which forests are put, which also include non-extractive uses such as recreation, watershed management and wildlife.

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Another recent innovation could also help: watershed management, which means managing water supplies across political or management borders can better control pollution and track water withdrawals.

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"Obviously these projects aren't going to solve the infrastructure need, but they will get people employed, " said Atlanta Watershed Management Commissioner Robert Hunter, the city's water and sewer systems chief.

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But many are also too small to cope with tasks like disease control or watershed management, or to sustain any oversight in the form of local media or pressure groups.

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Watershed-level management is becoming a buzzword globally as water managers realize their machinations have widespread effects.

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