Those who stand to benefit most from new development of the North Dakota oil patch might be tempted to be giddy, with good reason. The prospects genuinely are exciting.

Instead, it sounds as if people are being sober-minded. That's fitting, because there are serious issues associated with what only can be described as a boom.

It was wise for people to gather in Williston recently to talk and think with one another. They called it a summit meeting, and the plan is to do it every year. Again, that will be a wise move.

As well as providing an influx of capital and jobs, the new oil exploration and production boom might present serious problems. The more that the people most immediately involved - the residents of the Williston Basin - foresee and talk over their concerns open-mindedly, the better the situation will stay for old-timers and newcomers alike.

It must be acknowledged that there will be demand, competition even, for water to use in drilling. We might be talking about a lot of water, some of which up to this point has been counted on for municipal drinking water supply. It will take careful planning and maybe some substantial investments to ensure that everyone's needs are met and that municipalities don't go short.

Housing already is an issue. If it comes about as expected, the boom will bring as many as 12,000 workers for direct employment in the oil industry. It well might mean that there's good money to be made in building and supplying housing. But that also means a demand for water, and it means streets, sanitary and storm sewers, electrical and perhaps natural gas utility lines. Very possibly, new schools.

The list goes on. The maintenance of roads used by the oil industry can only cost more and more.

Costs associated with a boom in the Williston Basin must be apportioned fairly. The wealth created by oil production must not simply flow outward but do its share of good right in the counties where the crude is pumped from the ground.

People characteristically want to be cautious with their predictions and expectations. After all, we're North Dakotans, not Texans.

People in the oil patch need to have sufficiently big plans, though. If it does turn out, as was said at the summit, that North Dakota's portion of the middle Bakken shale formation could be the biggest single oil field in the continental United States in 30 years, the benefit-cost ratio should be watched carefully.

Oil production companies might be tempted to be closed-mouthed about their plans and projects. But the more open they can be, the fewer conflicts with the population of the Williston Basin there could be. The summit was a good first step. About 320 people took part.

Lines of communication are every bit as crucial as crude oil pipelines in making this bonanza happen and not creating more problems than benefits.