Drought and water supply Books

Book SynopsisA Thirsty Land chronicles Texans' epic struggles over water, from San Antonio's mission-era acequias to today's debates in the face of climate change and population growth, with an eye toward innovative technologies and strategies for increasing the supplTrade ReviewA Thirsty Land tells a compelling and important story not just about the state's water history, but also about its social, economic, and political identity. * Western Historical Quarterly *A reporting tour de force and reminiscent of Cadillac Desert, the 1986 book by Marc Reisner that is required reading for anyone seeking to understand water policy in the West. McGraw’s work is similarly nuanced, thoroughly researched and beautifully written. . . McGraw showcases a deep understanding of Texas law, history and culture. There’s a desire not just to explain where we stand now, but how we got here. * Texas Observer *Water is set to become the world’s most important commodity. It will be access to water that will determine which communities thrive. It will be the ability of state and local governments to set and enforce water conservation policies that will determine the long-term viability of the quickly growing cities and suburbs being planted in the desert. . . we need to worry about the right things. . . Start worrying about water. * Inside Higher Ed *McGraw's book proves that the United States simply isn't ready for the next big drought or flood. This is a problem that's been brewing for a long time, and climate change is about to make it worse. Gulp. * EcoWatch *Although A Thirsty Land is Texas-based, it raises questions about water as a resource and commodity that fits any location; questions we should all be considering regardless of where we live and the prodigiousness of our local water resources. * Block Island Times *In stark prose that often gleams like a bone pile bleached in the sun, McGraw travels back and forth across Texas to give a free-ranging but deadeye view of the crisis on the horizon. * Texas Monthly *It’s hard to write about the slow creep of environmental crises like drought without resorting to shock tactics or getting lost in the weeds…[McGraw] draws out the conflicts in compelling ways by drilling into the plight of individual water users. Even if you feel no connection to Texas, these stories are relevant to every part of the country. * Outside *Interviewing both scientific experts and everyday water users, [McGraw] clearly delineates the competing interests, describes political and geological reality, and makes a compelling argument for statewide water policy that utilizes modern technology and fairly weighs parochial needs against the good of the whole. * Arizona Daily Star, Southwest Books of the Year *Readers will put the book down with a sense of urgency, a set of strategies, and a feeling of hope. * Texas Books in Review *A Thirsty Land tells a compelling and important story not just about the state's water history, but also about its social, economic, and political identity. * Western Historical Quarterly *McGraw skillfully weaves his memorable conversations with everyday Texans into detailed research on water history and laws. The result is a highly readable and engaging book full of lively characters…McGraw argues cogently that Texas needs a rigorous statewide water plan based on natural boundaries of aquifers and the knowledge that thirsty land regions and water-abundant regions are interconnected. * Great Plains Research *Table of ContentsPrologue 1. Pipe Dreams: The 1968 State Water Plan 2. When Mine Is Yours and Yours Is Ours 3. “That’s the Kind of Thinking That Will Get Your Land Took from You” 4. The Last Straw 5. Rice in the Desert 6. What Makes the Dollar Flip 7. Dow by Law 8. An Oak with Its Roots in the River, Redux 9. Old Men Shouting at the Clouds 10. A Tale of Two Colonias 11. Up Against the Wall 12. Finding a Solution, Come Hell or No Water 13. Must Be Something in the Water 14. Hanged in a Fortnight Epilogue Acknowledgments Notes Sources and Suggestions for Further Reading Index

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Book SynopsisFocusing on Costa Rica and Brazil, Andrea Ballestero examines the legal, political, economic, and bureaucratic history of water in the context of the efforts to classify it as a human right, showing how seemingly small scale devices such as formulas and lists play large role in determining water's status.Trade Review"Through the brilliant selection of the devices to exhibit her ideas, the author invites readers to think deeply beyond courts or treaties establishing a human right to water and shows how many other factors also contribute to and shape this." -- Gayathri D Naik * LSE Review of Books *"[Ballestero's] insightful analysis convinces the reader that such apparently mundane technical devices are indeed wonderful in their capacities to compose the water worlds of the future." -- Veronica Strang * PoLAR *“Throughout her ethnography, Ballestero emphasizes the messiness and oftentimes mundane work it takes to make access to water a human right within capitalist society…. A Future History of Water showcases how everyday technolegal devices perform the essential work of creating a future in which water is accessible to all.” -- Kelsey Kim * Catalyst *“Ballestero’s elegant formulation allows for an anthropology of water not found elsewhere. It is an account attentive to both ethnographic detail and to the insight that anthropology can bring to larger debates over water’s value, management, and meaning. A Future History of Water should be on shelves of water scholars interested in the intersections of politics, economics, and the material relations of water. It will make an excellent contribution to courses at undergraduate and graduate levels in anthropology and critical social sciences.” -- Jeremy J. Schmidt * Anthropos *“A Future History of Water is an important contribution to the literature on urban infrastructure, water policy and the urbanisation of the global south, as well as to environmental anthropology. The book reveals how widespread global water policy is; the policy of water pipes, the functioning of local policy and the unforeseen consequences of economic reforms…. Through a careful choice of devices, the author encourages the reader to think globally about the human right to water and shows how many factors, outside of laws and treaties, still contribute to supporting and shaping the recognition of water as a human right.” -- Simona Zupanc * Anthropological Notebooks *“Dense and beautifully detailed, Ballestero’s story shows how government bureaucrats and regulators moved beyond the declarative to the actual performance of the exacting work that a commitment to rights demands. In the process, the book unravels a set of seemingly uncharismatic devices, such as the consumer price index. Ballestero makes these technical tools appear as exuberant microcosms of technopolitical craftiness, unexpected historical depth, and ethical future-making." -- Andrea Muehlebach * Public Works *“After many years of relative abandonment, the topic of water has flooded back into anthropology.... At the forefront of this renovated interest in the topic of water is Andrea Ballestero, and her excellent book A Future History of Water.” -- Casey Walsh * Luso-Brazilian Review *“Proportions and bifurcations play a central role in Andrea Ballestero’s mesmerizing and indispensable monograph on the practical futures of water governance.... Such is the virtue of this wondrous book :an ethnography of proportions that is disproportionately rewarding." -- Alberto Corsin-Jimenez * Allegra Lab *Table of ContentsPreface ix Acknowledgments xv Introduction 1 1. Formula 36 2. Index 75 3. List 109 4. Pact 144 Conclusion 185 Notes 201 References 211 Index 225

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Book SynopsisFocusing on Costa Rica and Brazil, Andrea Ballestero examines the legal, political, economic, and bureaucratic history of water in the context of the efforts to classify it as a human right, showing how seemingly small scale devices such as formulas and lists play large role in determining water's status.Trade Review"Through the brilliant selection of the devices to exhibit her ideas, the author invites readers to think deeply beyond courts or treaties establishing a human right to water and shows how many other factors also contribute to and shape this." -- Gayathri D Naik * LSE Review of Books *"[Ballestero's] insightful analysis convinces the reader that such apparently mundane technical devices are indeed wonderful in their capacities to compose the water worlds of the future." -- Veronica Strang * PoLAR *“Throughout her ethnography, Ballestero emphasizes the messiness and oftentimes mundane work it takes to make access to water a human right within capitalist society…. A Future History of Water showcases how everyday technolegal devices perform the essential work of creating a future in which water is accessible to all.” -- Kelsey Kim * Catalyst *“Ballestero’s elegant formulation allows for an anthropology of water not found elsewhere. It is an account attentive to both ethnographic detail and to the insight that anthropology can bring to larger debates over water’s value, management, and meaning. A Future History of Water should be on shelves of water scholars interested in the intersections of politics, economics, and the material relations of water. It will make an excellent contribution to courses at undergraduate and graduate levels in anthropology and critical social sciences.” -- Jeremy J. Schmidt * Anthropos *“A Future History of Water is an important contribution to the literature on urban infrastructure, water policy and the urbanisation of the global south, as well as to environmental anthropology. The book reveals how widespread global water policy is; the policy of water pipes, the functioning of local policy and the unforeseen consequences of economic reforms…. Through a careful choice of devices, the author encourages the reader to think globally about the human right to water and shows how many factors, outside of laws and treaties, still contribute to supporting and shaping the recognition of water as a human right.” -- Simona Zupanc * Anthropological Notebooks *“Dense and beautifully detailed, Ballestero’s story shows how government bureaucrats and regulators moved beyond the declarative to the actual performance of the exacting work that a commitment to rights demands. In the process, the book unravels a set of seemingly uncharismatic devices, such as the consumer price index. Ballestero makes these technical tools appear as exuberant microcosms of technopolitical craftiness, unexpected historical depth, and ethical future-making." -- Andrea Muehlebach * Public Works *“After many years of relative abandonment, the topic of water has flooded back into anthropology.... At the forefront of this renovated interest in the topic of water is Andrea Ballestero, and her excellent book A Future History of Water.” -- Casey Walsh * Luso-Brazilian Review *“Proportions and bifurcations play a central role in Andrea Ballestero’s mesmerizing and indispensable monograph on the practical futures of water governance.... Such is the virtue of this wondrous book :an ethnography of proportions that is disproportionately rewarding." -- Alberto Corsin-Jimenez * Allegra Lab *Table of ContentsPreface ix Acknowledgments xv Introduction 1 1. Formula 36 2. Index 75 3. List 109 4. Pact 144 Conclusion 185 Notes 201 References 211 Index 225

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Book SynopsisAustralia is at the forefront of marine conservation, with one of the largest systems of marine protected areas in the world. Big, Bold and Blue captures much of Australia's experience, sharing important lessons from the Great Barrier Reef and many other extraordinary marine protected areas.

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Book SynopsisSupplying water to millions is not simply an engineering and logistical challenge. As David Soll shows in his finely observed history of the nation's largest municipal water system, the task of providing water to New Yorkers transformed the natural and built environment of the city, its suburbs, and distant rural watersheds. Almost as soon as New York City completed its first municipal water system in 1842, it began to expand the network, eventually reaching far into the Catskill Mountains, more than one hundred miles from the city. Empire of Water explores the history of New York City's water system from the late nineteenth century to the early twenty-first century, focusing on the geographical, environmental, and political repercussions of the city's search for more water. Soll vividly recounts the profound environmental implications for both city and countryside. Some of the region's most prominent landmarks, such as the High Bridge across the Harlem River, Central Park's Trade ReviewEmpire of Water examines the development of the water supply system of New York City from the 19th century to the early 21st century through a political ecology lens.... The author's writing style would appeal to general readers who are curious about New York City’s water supply system; the book could also serve as a text for university environmental history courses. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through researchers/faculty; general readers. * Choice *David Soll ably deepens our understanding of New York's water supply in two ways. First, he focuses on the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, more specifically the period beginning in 1905, when the nation's leading city began tapping the streams of the Catskills. In the 1960s it would reach to the headwaters of the Delaware River. Second, Soll offers what he accurately characterizes in his subtitle as a political and environmental, as opposed to technological, history. * American Historical Review *Table of ContentsIntroduction. The Evolution of a Water SystemChapter 1. From Croton to CatskillChapter 2. Up CountryChapter 3. Drought, Delays, and the DelawareChapter 4. Back to the Supreme CourtChapter 5. The Water System and the Urban CrisisChapter 6. The Rise of Watershed ManagementChapter 7. Implementing the Watershed AgreementEpilogue. Putting Politics in Its PlaceNotes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisAs the world faces another water crisis, it is easy to understand why this precious and highly-disputed resource could determine the fate of entire nations. In reality, however, water conflicts rarely result in violence and more often lead to collaborative governance, however precarious. In this comprehensive and accessible text, David Feldman introduces readers to the key issues, debates, and challenges in water politics today. Its ten chapters explore the processes that determine how this unique resource captures our attention, the sources of power that determine how we allocate, use, and protect it, and the purposes that direct decisions over its cost, availability, and access. Drawing on contemporary water controversies from every continent – from Flint, Michigan to Mumbai, Sao Paulo, and Beijing –the book argues that cooperation and more equitable water management are imperative if the global community is to adequately address water challenges and their associated risks, particularly in the developing world. While alternatives for enhancing water supply, including waste-water re-use, desalination, and conservation abound, without inclusive means of addressing citizens' concerns, their adoption faces severe hurdles that can impede cooperation and generate additional conflicts. Trade Review"Most of what is challenging about ensuring clean water for cities, agriculture, industry, and ecosystems comes down to politics. In this highly readable book David Feldman provides a comprehensive introduction to water politics based on his extensive experience consulting on water issues across the world. It will be a valuable resource for students, scholars, and practitioners concerned with water security and management issues today." - Denise Fort, University of New Mexico "A scholarly tour de force by one the world’s leading authorities on water politics that sets the benchmark for studies on this subject. Feldman’s broad-ranging analysis, draws on a wealth of new empirical material to critically examine water politics in multiple contexts across differing scales, from the local to the global. For scholars, policy-makers, and practitioners focused on governing such disputes, this book is a must-read." - David Benson, University of ExeterTable of ContentsForeword Figures and tables Chapter 1: Why Water Politics Matters Chapter 2: Contested Waters: The Politics of Supply Chapter 3: Clean, Green, and Costly: Water Quality Chapter 4: The Water-Energy-Food Nexus Chapter 5: Drought, Flood, and Everything In-Between Chapter 6: Water Rights and Water Wrongs Chapter 7: International Cooperation Chapter 8: Water Conflicts Chapter 9: Tapping into Toilets: New Sources of Water Chapter 10: Toward a Water Sensitive Future Glossary References Index

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Book SynopsisAs the world faces another water crisis, it is easy to understand why this precious and highly-disputed resource could determine the fate of entire nations. In reality, however, water conflicts rarely result in violence and more often lead to collaborative governance, however precarious. In this comprehensive and accessible text, David Feldman introduces readers to the key issues, debates, and challenges in water politics today. Its ten chapters explore the processes that determine how this unique resource captures our attention, the sources of power that determine how we allocate, use, and protect it, and the purposes that direct decisions over its cost, availability, and access. Drawing on contemporary water controversies from every continent – from Flint, Michigan to Mumbai, Sao Paulo, and Beijing –the book argues that cooperation and more equitable water management are imperative if the global community is to adequately address water challenges and their associated risks, particularly in the developing world. While alternatives for enhancing water supply, including waste-water re-use, desalination, and conservation abound, without inclusive means of addressing citizens' concerns, their adoption faces severe hurdles that can impede cooperation and generate additional conflicts. Trade Review"Most of what is challenging about ensuring clean water for cities, agriculture, industry, and ecosystems comes down to politics. In this highly readable book David Feldman provides a comprehensive introduction to water politics based on his extensive experience consulting on water issues across the world. It will be a valuable resource for students, scholars, and practitioners concerned with water security and management issues today." Denise Fort, University of New Mexico "A scholarly tour de force by one the world�s leading authorities on water politics that sets the benchmark for studies on this subject. Feldman�s broad-ranging analysis, draws on a wealth of new empirical material to critically examine water politics in multiple contexts across differing scales, from the local to the global. For scholars, policy-makers, and practitioners focused on governing such disputes, this book is a must-read." David Benson, University of ExeterTable of ContentsContents Foreword Figures and tables Chapter 1: Why Water Politics Matters Chapter 2: Contested Waters: The Politics of Supply Chapter 3: Clean, Green, and Costly: Water Quality Chapter 4: The Water-Energy-Food Nexus Chapter 5: Drought, Flood, and Everything In-Between Chapter 6: Water Rights and Water Wrongs Chapter 7: International Cooperation Chapter 8: Water Conflicts Chapter 9: Tapping into Toilets: New Sources of Water Chapter 10: Toward a Water Sensitive Future Glossary References Index

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Book SynopsisThe Times Book of the Year pick'Smart, sobering, and scholarly.' - Steve Brusatte, the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Rise and Fall of DinosaursA gripping, thought-provoking and ultimately optimistic investigation into the world’s next great climate crisis - the scarcity of water.Water scarcity is the next big climate crisis. Water stress – not just scarcity, but also water-quality issues caused by pollution – is already driving the first waves of climate refugees. Rivers are drying out before they meet the oceans and ancient lakes are disappearing. It’s increasingly clear that human mismanagement of water is dangerously unsustainable, for both ecological and human survival. And yet in recent years some key countries have been quietly and very successfully addressing water stress.How are Singapore and Israel, for example – both severely water-stressed countries – not in the same predicament as Chennai or California?In The Last Drop, award-winning environmental journalist Tim Smedley meets experts, victims, activists and pioneers to find out how we can mend the water table that our survival depends upon. He offers a fascinating, universally relevant account of the environmental and human factors that have led us to this point, and suggests practical ways to address the crisis, before it’s too late.Trade ReviewSmart, sobering, and scholarly. Tim Smedley explores the science and politics behind our current water crisis, and with cautious optimism looks ahead for solutions that can save us from a catastrophe that could rival the great upheavals and extinctions of Earth history. -- Steve Brusatte, professor and palaeontologist at the University of Edinburgh and Sunday Times bestselling author of The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs Tim Smedley’s sometimes angry, always informed book is a smouldering indictment of the self-inflicted water wounds we’re causing ourselves and our planet. -- Mark Rowe * Geographical Magazine *Here in the UK, we just turn on taps without asking where the water comes from and where it goes to, but Tim Smedley argues eloquently that it’s time for that to change. And by the end of the book, you will be hopping mad and entirely in agreement with him. It's an essential read on a topic that we don’t talk about enough. This book is clear, fascinating and horrifying, but also offers workable solutions that can save us all from the worst. You will never see the water you use in the same way again. -- Helen Czerski, BBC broadcaster, UCL physicist and Royal Institution Christmas LecturerDespite the daunting scale of the water crisis, Smedley’s globe-crossing investigation into its solutions leaves you feeling that the problem is surmountable. That’s excellent news for civilisation. * The Times *

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Book SynopsisWater scarcity is the next big climate crisis. Water stress – not just scarcity, but also water-quality issues caused by pollution – is already driving the first waves of climate refugees. Rivers are drying out before they meet the oceans, and ancient lakes are disappearing. Fourteen of the world’s twenty megacities are now experiencing water scarcity or drought conditions. It’s increasingly clear that human mismanagement of water is dangerously unsustainable, for both ecological and human survival. And yet in recent years some key countries have been quietly and very successfully addressing water stress.How are Singapore and Israel, for example – both severely water-stressed countries – not in the same predicament as Chennai or California, but now boast surplus water? What can we learn from them and how can we use this knowledge to turn things around for the wider global community?Do we have to stop eating almonds and asparagus grown in the deserts of California and Peru? Could desalination of seawater be the answer? Or rainwater capture? Are some of the wilder ‘solutions’ – such as the plan to tow icebergs to Cape Town – pure madness, or necessary innovation?Award-winning environmental journalist Tim Smedley will travel the world to meet the experts, the victims, the activists and pioneers, to find out how we can mend the water table that our survival depends upon. His book will take an unblinking look at the current situation and how we got there. And then look to the solutions.The Last Drop promises to offer a fascinating, universally relevant account of the environmental and human factors that have led us to this point, and suggests practical ways in which we might address the crisis, before it’s too late.

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Book SynopsisIn countries where scarce surface water causes disease and conflict, an abundance of water can bring peace.With the growing impact of climate change, an estimated one third of the world's population lacks fresh water. By 2050 it could well be over half, some five billion people.Alain Gachet, known as the "Wizard of H2O", explores and unravels the interrelated humanitarian, environmental, scientific and geo-political concerns generated by water scarcity. An archaeological explorer and mining engineer, Gachet has developed a technology (using Nasa satellite imagery) to identify massive aquifers beneath the earth's surface using a mathematical algorithm that could completely change our future.As well as exploring our current environmental crisis (and offering some solutions), Gachet gives an account of his extraordinary adventures as a mining engineer both before and since he became an expert in deep groundwater - in Congo; in Libya, where he has an audience with Colonel Gaddafi; in Darfur, where he works alongside refugee agencies to provide water to vast camps, often at risk to his life; in Iraq and in Kurdistan, where he encounters both the Peshmerga and the Yazidi people; and in the Turkana region of Kenya, where his discoveries of vast underground reservoirs have been transformative to the lives of the people in an area plagued by drought and disputes over livestock for generations.Gachet discusses the critical issues of climate change and desertification, melting glaciers and rising sea levels, but this is also a book about the people he meets in some of the world's most challenging zones of conflict and deprivation. Ultimately this is a book of hope as we explore some of the solutions for the future."If the quest to find high-quality water for millions has a superstar, that person is Alain Gachet. Living a truly adventurous life in a scientific field where underground water is hidden and elusive, he has advanced the science and, at the same time, uniquely served society. This is an exciting story of risk, daring, hydrophilanthropy, and reflection on one of the most important challenges facing humankind." DAVID K. KREAMER, President, International Association of Hydrogeologists

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Book SynopsisWhat constitutes safe drinking water? For more than a century, the US government has attempted to answer this question by setting national standards for drinking water quality. In a federal system of governance, however, national standards only go so far. State and local governments have long considered it their prerogative to select water supplies and treatment technologies decisions that largely determine whether or not national standards will ever be met. Tragedies like the drinking water crisis in Flint, MI remind us that there are definite limits to what federal power can achieve. Nevertheless, the quest to raise the quality of drinking water through national standards remains an important and underappreciated episode in the history of US public health policy. In this book, Michael Zarkin traces the development of US drinking water standards, beginning with the earliest efforts by the US Public Health Service to craft national standards, and ending with the EPAs most recent efforts to implement the Safe Drinking Water Act. Along the way, Dr Zarkin tells the story of the ideas, political battles, and scientific controversies that shaped our nations drinking water regulations. In the end, Dr Zarkin concludes that drinking water regulation is made through an unconventional style of politics not found in other areas of US environmental policy.

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Book SynopsisMuch progress has been made in achieving the ambitious goals that Congress established in 1972 in the Clean Water Act (CWA) to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nations waters. However, long-standing problems persist, and new problems have emerged. Water quality problems are diverse, ranging from pollution runoff from farms and ranches, city streets, and other diffuse or nonpoint sources, to toxic substances discharged from factories and sewage treatment plants. Since the early 2000s, increased oil and gas production across the nation has resulted in a corresponding increase in wastewater that must be managed, reused, or disposed of properly. In particular, the hydraulic fracturing process has also raised concerns about potential effects to human health and the environment, including the potential contamination of underground drinking water sources by injecting wastewater associated with the production of oil and gas.

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Book SynopsisObi Kaufmann, author of the best-selling California Field Atlas, turns his artful yet analytical attention to the Golden State's single most complex and controversial resource: water.In this book, Kaufmann's signature full-color maps unravel the braided knot of California's water infrastructure and ecosystems, exposing a history of unlimited growth in spite of finite natural resources—a history that has led to its current precarious circumstances. Yet this built world depends upon the biosphere, and in The State of Water Kaufmann argues that environmental conservation and restoration efforts are necessary not only for ethical reasons but also as a matter of human survival. Offering nine perspectives to illustrate the most pressing challenges facing California's water infrastructure, from dams to species revitalization, Kaufmann reveals pragmatic yet inspiring solutions to how water in the West can continue to support agriculture, municipalities, and the environment. Interspersed throughout with trail paintings of animals that might yet survive under a caring and careful water ethic, Kaufmann shows how California can usher in a new era of responsible water conservation, and—perhaps most importantly—how we may do so together.Trade Review“Invites paddling around until you discover something fascinating, which you do, often. And of course, there are the illustrations. Kaufmann’s watercolors shimmer with delicacy and drama.”—Peter Fish, San Francisco Chronicle“Obi Kaufmann dives fearlessly and joyfully into the maelstrom that is The State of Water in California. Luscious illustrations reveal that joy, accompanied by text that faces historic challenges and a troubled future head on. This is not a book with a political agenda, other than 'to point out our agreements over our differences,' yet Kaufmann's concern for moral integrity points toward better ways we might compete for out limited water resource. With words and images the book affirms that 'water is life.' Let's lift a glass of the precious stuff to the hope that every Californian will read The State of Water.”—David Carle, author of Introduction to Water in California and Water and the California Dream“Equal parts pragmatism and whimsy, this exploration of water in California by the artist-naturalist Obi Kaufman is a delight from start to finish. A kind of scientific wonder cabinet, this splendidly illustrated reference manual has something for anyone interested in water in the Golden State. From sturgeon and river otters to vernal pools and diversion dams, The State of Water offers fresh new ways of thinking about California's waterscape that replenish and revitalize the groundwater of our aquatic imagination.”—Michael Kowalewski, Lloyd McBride Professor of English & Environmental Studies, Carleton College

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Book SynopsisThe world's emerging water crisis has ignited efforts to reconnect policy to human values. According to the book, all approaches to managing water, no matter how grounded in empirical data, involve moral judgments and cultural assumptions. Each of the book's six sections discuses a different approach to thinking about the relationship between water and humanity, from utilitarianism to eco-feminism to religious beliefs. Contributors range from Bartholomew, Ecumenical Patriarch of the Orthodox Church to Nobel Laureate Elinor Ostrom and water policy expert Sandra Postel. "Water Ethics" will help readers understand how various moral perspectives have guided and will continue to guide water policy around the globe.

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Book SynopsisFor the past century, America has invested significant research, development and construction funding to develop both fresh surface-water and groundwater resources. The result is a water infrastructure that allows us to harness the vast resources of the country''s rivers and waterbeds, control floods and store water during droughts to provide reliable supplies of freshwater for agricultural, industrial, domestic and energy uses. This book presents background information on the connections between energy and water, identifies concerns regarding water demands of energy production, and discusses the science and technologies to address water use and management in the context of energy production and use.

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Book SynopsisIn this timely work, Eric Freyfogle probes the long-simmering struggles in the American West to address water-related problem. The big challenge is to resolve water shortages and meet high-valued water needs while also improving river ecosystems. These water conflicts, he suggests, have less to do with our contentious political differences than they do with longstanding core elements of American culture—inherited, shared ways of understanding our place in nature that no longer make good sense. Particularly troublesome are the ways we fragment it, valuing its parts as discrete commodities. Also at play is our cultural inability to think clearly about how best to draw the line between the legitimate use of nature and the abuse of it. Building on these cultural critiques, Freyfogle takes up the issue of private property rights, highlighting the longstanding flexibility of this key American institution as well as the moral imperative to ensure that property rights aren’t used in ways that harm communities. Outdated understandings about private property, he concludes, have further confused our understanding and made sensible solutions to water problems even harder to imagine. Water-policy reform won’t happen, Freyfogle argues, until we reconsider how we understand nature and take charge of the institution of ownership, recasting it so as to increase the benefits it generates for everyone. If we can do that, solutions to water troubles could prove easier than we expect. The work concludes with an original, sweeping policy proposal to resolve the West’s water shortages and meet environmental needs in ways fair to all. This lecture was presented on March 22, 2017, at the 22nd annual symposium sponsored by the Wallace Stegner Center for Land, Resources and the Environment at the S. J. Quinney College of Law, University of Utah.

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Book SynopsisIsland Press has been publishing the biennial The World's Water series since 1998. In that time, it has become an institution of the water field. The Journal of the American Water Resources Association sums it up well: "The series continues to be an invaluable collection of all kinds of water-related material, ranging from concise, stand-alone chapters on important topics to numerous sections of data...a 'must have' for anyone interested in the water resource field." The latest book will include chapters on particularly timely subjects, including fracking and emerging contaminants.

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Book SynopsisWater scarcity is spreading and intensifying in many regions of the world, with dire consequences for local communities, economies, and freshwater ecosystems. Current approaches tend to rely on policies crafted at the state or national level, which on their own have proved insufficient to arrest water scarcity. To be durable and effective, water plans must be informed by the culture, economics, and varied needs of affected community members. International water expert Brian Richter argues that sustainable water sharing in the twenty-first century can only happen through open, democratic dialogue and local collective action. In Chasing Water, Richter tells a cohesive and complete story of water scarcity: where it is happening, what is causing it, and how it can be addressed. Through his engaging and non-technical style, he strips away the complexities of water management to its bare essentials, providing information and practical examples that will empower community leaders, activists, and students to develop successful and long-lasting water programmes. Chasing Water will provide local stakeholders with the tools and knowledge they need to take an active role in the watershed-based planning and implementation that are essential for water supplies to remain sustainable in perpetuity.

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Book SynopsisStreets make up more than 80 percent of all public space in cities, yet street space is often underutilised or disproportionately allocated to the movement of private motor vehicles. Excess impervious surface contributes to stormwater runoff, posing a threat to the environment and human health, and often overwhelming sewer systems. This excess asphalt also poses a threat to public safety, encouraging faster speeds and dangerous conditions for people walking and biking. The Urban Street Stormwater Guide begins from the principle that street design can support, or degrade, the urban area's overall environmental health. By incorporating Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) into the right-of-way, cities can manage stormwater and reap the public health, environmental, and aesthetic benefits of street trees, planters, and greenery in the public realm. With thoughtful design, GSI can bolster strategies to provide a safe and pleasant walking and cycling experience, efficient and reliable transit service, and safer streets for all users.Building on the successful NACTO urban street guides, the Urban Street Stormwater Guide provides the best practices for the design of GSI along transportation corridors. The authors consider context-sensitive design elements related to street design, character and use, zoning, posted speed, traffic volumes, and impacts to non-motorised and vehicular access. The Guide documents and synthesizes current practices being developed by individual agencies and recommends design guidance for implementation, as well as explores innovative new strategies being tested in cities nationwide. The guidance will focus on providing safe, functioning and maintainable infrastructure that meets the unique needs and requirements of the transportation corridors and its various uses and users. The state-of-the-art solutions in this guide will assist urban planners and designers, transportation engineers, city officials, ecologists, public works officials, and others interested in the role of the built urban landscape in protecting the climate, water quality, and natural environment.

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Book SynopsisThe Corps is responsible for dredging sediment from waterways to maintain shipping routes important for commerce. One dredge type, a hopper dredge, performs much of the dredging in ports and harbours, and the Corps uses its own fleet of hopper dredges and contracts. In 2003, GAO examined the Corps'' hopper dredging program and made recommendations to improve its management. GAO was asked to review changes to the program. This book examines actions the Corps has taken to address GAO''s 2003 recommendations for improving the information needed to manage its hopper dredging program and develop cost estimates for industry contracts; effects since 2003, if any, of the statutory restrictions placed on the use of the Corps'' hopper dredges; and key challenges, if any, the Corps faces in managing its hopper dredge fleet.

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Book SynopsisEngineers and scientists work to secure water supplies for potable and agricultural use. They evaluate the water balance within a watershed and determine the available water supply, the water needed for various needs in that watershed, the seasonal cycles of water movement through the watershed and they develop systems to store, treat and convey water for various uses. This book presents current research in the study of water engineering including the methods and approaches of groundwater investigation, development and management; industrial wastewater treatment using cavitational reactors and the Fenton process; acquifer characterization using slug tests; water cluster ion beam processing and sustainable water engineering for vulnerable communities in Colombia.

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Book SynopsisThis book presents and discusses current research in the study of water supply systems, with a particular focus on the demand, distribution and contaminants found in natural water. Topics discussed include groundwater contamination and challenges in meeting increasing water demand; bottle water export potential; disinfection by-products in rural water supply systems; wastewater discharge; water pollution; nutrient mineral deficiency in drinking water and the distribution of trace metal pollutants in surface water systems.

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Book SynopsisThe results discussed in this book are interesting and useful for a wide range of specialists and scientists working in the field of applied mathematics, and in the modelling and monitoring of pollution of natural waters, ecology, hydrology, power engineering and building of different structures of water objects. Their importance and practical value are submitted in the friendly form for comprehension and are ready for direct application for the solution of practical tasks. Advantages of the elaborated methods and algorithms are shown not only through theoretical judgements and calculations, but also through the demonstration of results of particular calculus and modelling.

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Book SynopsisThe Earth''s water is always in movement, and the water cycle describes the continuous movement of water on, above, and below the surface of the Earth. Thus, the water cycle describes the processes that drive the movement of water throughout the hydrosphere, whilst a reservoir represents the water contained in different steps within the cycle. In general, there is a relationship between the mineral composition of natural water and that of the solid minerals with which the water has been in contact. This relationship may be comparatively simple and uncomplicated, as in the case of an aquifer receiving direct recharge by rainfall and from which water is discharged without contacting any other aquifer or other water. This book discusses how different techniques can be utilised to investigate the water movement in different aquifer systems occurring in Brazil.

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Book SynopsisWith increases in the number of people travelling, the speed and methods of travel, the types and volume of trade, the ability to move living plants and animals so that more of them survive the journey, and the different modes of transport for hitch-hiking organisms, invasive species have become a global concern. Although there are many ways in which species may invade, this book focuses on ballast water discharge by cargo ships as one of the more significant mechanisms for biotic invasion of coastal and estuarine habitats as well as inland navigable waters. This book provides background on various approaches to ballast water management and reviews currents laws and programs.

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Book SynopsisWhile three years of hydrological drought conditions have created a fundamental shortage of water supply in California, many water users have questioned the extent to which regulatory and court-imposed restrictions on water removed from the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers Delta, in order to protect fish habitat, have contributed to water shortages in 2009. A longer term issue for Congress is how to evaluate management alternatives that will protect species, but also help water users and economies that depend on reliable water supplies and healthy ecosystems. This book discusses California''s current hydrological situation and provides background on regulatory restrictions, affecting California water deliveries, as well as on the long-established state water rights system.

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Book SynopsisWater is the most vital element among the natural resources, and is crucial for the survival of all living organisms. Water drove the development of human civilisation from the earliest agricultural communities to the greatest metropolitan centres. Surface water and groundwater are both important sources not only for human use but also for ecological systems. Although water is one of our basic resources, it is often in short supply. This new and important book discusses the environmental, economic and social impacts of water shortages around the globe.

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Book SynopsisWater scarcity and stringent environmental regulations have mandated treatment of polluted, saline and marginal waters for use and reuse within various sectors: industrial, agricultural and municipal. Availability and production of water is directly linked to the nature, availability, and amount of energy required for its treatment. Various technologies have emerged or are emerging based on physicochemical and biological fundamentals. This book discusses these issues and some of the advancements and challenges in securing this precious resource for human, industrial and agricultural consumption.

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Book SynopsisThe World Bank predicts that two-thirds of the world''s population will not have enough fresh drinking water by the year 2025. Instead of protecting existing supplies, promoting conservation or helping vulnerable populations, many governments are turning to private companies, often large transnational corporations, to fix their water woes. There is growing concern among communities, therefore, that as water resources move from being a public good to the hands of private interests, more poor people will be left to go thirsty. This book discusses the issues facing the water supply in the Niger Delta of Nigeria in order to highlight the immediate collective need to intervention.

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Book SynopsisFor the thirty-four million people living in Sudan, environmental pollution is a major concern throughout the country; therefore industry, communities, local authorities and central government should adopt an integrated approach in order to deal with pollution issues. Most polluters pay little or no attention to the control and proper management of polluting effluents. This may reflect lack of enforceable legislation and/or the fear of spending money on the treatment of their effluent prior to discharge. Present resources must be strictly monitored and managed effectively if further deterioration is to be avoided. This book offers pertinent information regarding Sudan''s water supply.

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Book SynopsisThe presence of toxic Cr(VI) in the aquatic environment and their harmful effects on living organisms has emerged as one of the most serious environmental concerns in Thailand, located in the Southeast Asian region. The research, undertaken at the Sirindhorn International Institute of Technology of Thammasat University (2001-2003), directly addressed the need of our society for clean water. This book reports the technical applicability of coconut shell waste, a low cost material from local agricultural waste for treatment of Cr(VI)-contaminated water, and can be a useful resource for environmental scientists, engineers, researchers, policy and decision makers, and engineering students world-wide.

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Book SynopsisRed Water, Black Gold: The Canadian River in Texas 1920–1999 tells the story of the Canadian River in the Texas Panhandle. It is a tale of grand designs, high hopes, deep holes, politics, fishing, follies, foibles, and environmental change.Although efforts had been made to tap the Canadian River’s waters before 1920, the discovery of oil in the Panhandle gave new urgency to the search for permanent water supplies.Additionally, the spread of groundwater irrigation amid the discovery of the limits of Ogallala Aquifer spurred regional interests to tap the Canadian. But overestimates of the river’s flow and unfamiliarity with the critical role groundwater played in maintaining that flow led to complications and frustrations, culminating in a lawsuit over the location of the banks of a seemingly waterless river.This book is a valuable addition to the water history of Texas and the American West and to the growing body of worldwide regional water histories. Combining traditional historical sources with hydrology, climatology, and geology, Red Water, Black Gold complicates the traditional story of top-down water management as well as telling the thus-far untold story of the Canadian River in Texas.

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