AbstractA supply of good‐quality water is our most critical natural resource, for our municipal growth and an increasingly healthy industrial base. The economic viability of our farms depends upon it. The locating and development of this resource is the province of the hydrogeologist.The hydrogeologist is more than just a ground‐water geologist, for he deals with water in virtually every geologic situation, above‐the water table as well as below it, and at the surface as well as underground.The hydrogeologist must of course possess the necessary background in the allied sciences and fluid mechanics, and should know something of the social science aspects of water decision‐making. He must be able to work closely with the civil and sanitary engineers, and he must be able to make himself understood to planners.In performing his work he has a responsibility to society, and this is equated with a responsibility to his profession. As Martin Van Couvering has said, the respect that our profession deserves “cannot be bought or solicited; it has to be earned by the right kind of per