Book Reviews

The Role of Technology in Water Resources Planning and Management , E.M. Perez and W. Viessman . ( Editors ). ASCE Press , 1801 Alek Bell Drive, Reston, Virginia 20191-4400 . 2009 . 134 pages . $22 . ISBN 978-0-7844-1028-8 . The main thrust of this 134-page paperback pertains to the impact of using computers and their increasingly sophisticated programs in conjunction with advanced technologies in water resources-related planning and management activities. Appropriate attention is also given to the growing use of GIS in the development of planning and management models. The book begins with a short but useful chapter on the evolution of water resources technology and then continues with three chapters on case studies in water supply, environmental restoration cases, and emerging technologies. Each one of the three chapters includes three different case studies that highlight the issues for each of the study areas. This procedure was good, as a brief but informative background and history of the area (such as the Kissimmee River in Florida) and was followed by a sound, detailed account of the various models, programs, problems, and techniques that were applied to the subject area. Each one of the nine case studies in Chapters 3-5 followed the aforementioned writing format. The examples selected were very informative, as they covered a range of study areas and interesting local issues. The water supply case studies in Chapter 3 included the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area water supply, water availability modeling in Texas with particular emphasis on surface water, and the massive groundwater development project in Libya. The restoration case studies in Chapter 4 included two areas from Florida (Kissimmee River and the Everglades) and a coastal area study in Louisiana. The case studies on emerging technologies in Chapter 5 discussed the decision support system in the South Platte River watershed in Colorado, the Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence region, and the operations management of the South Florida Water Management District. The discussion in each study had certain similarities, but the institutional, technical, and differences in location were quite interesting and useful. Regrettably, there were some aspects of the book that could have been avoided. For example, the inner and outer horizontal margins of the pages are only about 0.4 in. (1.02 cm) and 0.3 in. (0.76 cm), respectively. The reader has to constantly press the book down to read the text. Another item that could easily be clarified is to identify what TAF represents in Figure 21. It is presumed to be “thousand acre-feet,” but a brief note would have helped. It is always useful to include maps in a book of this nature. Many projects in different locations are discussed, and basic maps are obviously necessary. Some of the maps were not as clear as they could have been. For example, Figure 1 has a map scale of 1 in. to 44.4 mi for the Potomac River watershed, resulting in a small scale map that makes it very difficult to even read the names of the major rivers. At the least, the printed size of the river names should have been larger. The maps that show the huge groundwater project in Libya (Figure 4) and the Colorado’s River basins (Figure 20) do not have scales. The map of south-central Florida (Figure 13) that goes from the Keys to Orlando has a scale of only 1 in. to 80 mi, which is too small to accompany the discussion in the chapter. The adjoining map of the South Florida Water Management District on the same page (p. 52) is also too small to be of much value. Finally, it would have been useful to include a list of the maps at the very beginning of the book. The various sections of the book also have different writing styles and modes of expression, presumably generated by the 11 members of the Task Committee, two of whom were editors. The talent pool on the committee was substantial, but the material in each chapter varied considerably, perhaps reflecting different authors. This situation led to another unknown (i.e., who were the authors of the various chapters and sections). Mention is made of “… the writer” in the second paragraph on p. 87, but there is no identification. Did this unnamed writer work only on the South Platte River, or on all of Chapter 5? It seems fairly reasonable to have the author(s) identified for the sections/chapters that they wrote. The concluding chapter is excellent, as it serves as a clear, succinct statement of the role of technology in water resources planning. Interesting comments were also made about the role of the federal government and the states in encouraging or discouraging a variety of options to deal with water resource issues. In conclusion, the major goals of the Committee have been met, although there could have been some improvements as previously discussed. Robert M. Hordon Water Resources Consultant8 Dov PlaceKendall Park, New Jersey 08824 Water Ethics: Foundational Readings for Students and Professionals , P.G. Brown and J.J. Schmidt ( Editors ). Island Press , 1718 Connecticut Ave. NW, Ste. 300, Washington, D.C. 20009 . 2010 . 301 pages . $35.00 (paper ). ISBN 978-1-59726-565-2 . I really enjoyed reading Water Ethics because I have an interest in philosophy. But even if I did not have a background in philosophy, I still would have enjoyed reading these essays – maybe it is simply because something in these well written essays resonated with me. Indeed, I find myself re-reading many of the essays – some of them are just that good. Many of these essays are more than rote academic exercises. I was fully engaged – heart and mind – as I read Water Ethics. For me, some of the philosophies expressed have moved me to action. But to be sure, I was not motivated by monetary gain – not for upward mobility. No, I found myself moved to do good just for the sake of doing good – for what I think is right. Admittedly, I did not instantly recognize many of the essayists in Water Ethics. I hope this is because of my own ignorance of water ethics – my own distorted gestalt focused on the technical issues of water. Still, if you don’t recognize these authors, you should not be dissuaded from reading these essays – many of them are beautifully written and often you can feel the emotional connection that the authors have with their art. Too many excellent works to adequately describe here are included. Indeed, I cannot do justice to reviewing even one single work in the short span of this review. But I think it is useful to discuss two essays that particularly struck me. The essay, “Fish First! The Changing Ethics of Ecosystem Management,” was written by Carolyn Merchant. In particular, one passage moved me: “There is an intrinsic value to all living and nonliving things, and all have a right to survive.” I already believed this to be true but until now I felt alone in this view and I remained mute for fear of ridicule. But this passage let me know that there are others that believe as I do and that I am not alone in holding this view. Nor is this a diseased view. So I am now okay with this thought, that there is an intrinsic value to all things and I am moved to action. There is no reason why I cannot incorporate this thought into my professional ethos – I would be dishonest if I did otherwise. The second essay that stirred me: “Women, Water, Energy: An Ecofeminist Approach,” was written by Greta Gaard. Again, there was one particular passage that touched me: “Exemplifying the instrumentalism inherent in Plumwood’s master model, Western culture views water primarily as a means to its own ends, a servant to the dominant (not subordinate) population; it is difficult, in this cultural context, to imagine that water would have purposes of its own.” Again, I felt relieved that others hold this view – that water would have purposes of its own – as I have held this view for quite some time. Again, I realize that all of my thoughts are not necessarily malformed. Gaard’s essay too has moved me to take action – I am emboldened to modify my professional perspective to accommodate my old friend. I realize that my views might not be held by many other hydrologists – and my views probably won’t make me wealthy or popular. But I will say this, these essays, if you let them, can motivate you to take action for what you believe is right. I am glad that I read Water Ethics and I would not hesitate suggesting it to my colleagues. The essays are not necessarily written for the professional philosopher – the essays are not laden with unfamiliar jargon – the views are immediately understandable. But an emotional component espoused by Water Ethics is lacking in a purely reductionist view of water. Kevin J. Spelts Twin Platte Natural Resources District111 S. Dewey St., 2nd FloorNorth Platte, Nebraska 69103 Water Resources Engineering (Second Edition) , L.W. Mays . John Wiley & Sons, Inc. , 111 River St., Hoboken, New Jersey 07030-5774 . 2011 . 890 pages . ISBN 978-0-470-46064-1. This book is a detailed text for all students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels and also an excellent reference for engineers and hydrologists. It is suitable for the first undergraduate course in hydraulics, hydrology, and hydraulic design by reference to selected chapters in those fields. Two new chapters on water resources engineering and sustainability have been added to this revised edition. The book is divided into five major areas: Water Resource Sustainability, Hydraulics, Hydrology, Engineering Analysis and Design for Water Use, and Engineering Analysis and Design for Water Excess Management. There are 19 chapters in the book that cover the extensive gamut of hydrology and hydraulics with the exception of the water quality aspects of water resources engineering. The book includes an enormous amount of detail along with copious tables, sample problems, maps, graphs, and photos. The graphs are very useful, numerous, and generally quite clear. Websites are given where appropriate in addition to numerous references. All chapters contain useful problems with worked out solutions and good diagrams for many of the processes. Chapter 2 deals with water resources sustainability and begins with a very good discussion of the Colorado River Basin and the problems of demand exceeding supply in the foreseeable future, as urban/suburban water demand continues to grow. As in this chapter and throughout the book, the author must be commended for the detail in the tables and footnotes in addition to including the source of the data. However, all of the supporting tables and figures are numbered with three digits, such as the map on p. 17 that is labeled as Figure 2.2.1 rather than Figure 2.1. It is the author’s discretion, but many other texts drop the extra digits and just use, for example, Figure 2.1 (Chapter 2, Figure 1) that seems to be easier to find and use. Chapters 3-6 cover the hydraulic processes associated with flow and hydrostatic forces, pressurized pipe flow, open channel flow, and groundwater flow. Chapter 7 on hydrologic processes focuses on the engineering aspects of hydrology with particular attention to surface water. Chemical properties of water and its relationship to biota are not included. The maps of drainage basins are a nice feature, especially since most of them have graphic scales with the exception of Figure 7.1.9 (the Upper Mississippi River without the Missouri River). Figure 7.1.3 on p. 235 shows a map of the world with major ocean currents. As the map is greatly extended along the Equator, it would have been useful to provide a name for the projection (presumably some type of equal-area projection). Many references in climatology include “convergent lifting” as one of the four types of lifting mechanisms that result in precipitation. The convergence type is generally not as common as the three types cited on p. 238, but it is still deemed a major source of precipitation, particularly in the lower latitudes on both sides of the Equator. This Intertropical Convergence Zone is noted for copious precipitation, general instability, and rising air in the Hadley cells. It shifts seasonally from about 150°S in North Australia to 250°N in northern India – a range of about 400° in latitude. Chapters 8 and 9 deal with surface runoff and reservoir and stream flow routing. Probability is thoroughly treated in Chapter 10 with numerous problems that involve hydrology and hydraulic design and analysis. Chapter 11 deals with water withdrawal and uses. Surprisingly, with the exception of Vol. 1 of the Gleick et al., Biennial Reports that started in 1998-1999, no other reference to the other five Biennial Reports that covered the periods 2000-2001 through 2008-2009 was made. Abundant in-depth material about water issues is included in these compilations and to exclude them from the reference list in one or more chapters appears inappropriate. To be fair to the author who has selected some of the best possible references overall to be included, it would have been better to extend the list to include recent works on such important areas as water use and trends. This chapter is potentially very interesting and useful, but some of the data are dated. For example, Figure 11.1 shows United States (U.S.) freshwater withdrawals and consumption based on the USGS five-year reports during the 1960-1990 period. This revised edition does not include the USGS reports (or more formally Circulars) for 1995, 2000, and 2005. Would the trends change if more recent data were included? At the least, it would be nice to know. Similar comments could be made about Table 11.1.2 based on a reference from 1991, Tables 11.1.3-11.1.5, 11.2.1, 11.2.2, and Tables 11.4.2 and 11.4.3. Flow duration curves are shown in Figure 11.7.2 on semilog graphs. In Searcy’s USGS Water-Supply Paper 1542-A of 1959, a flow duration curve is shown on a log probability graph. It would have been useful to briefly discuss the difference, if any, between the two types of graph. The list of references is extensive. However, there are none after 2000. Other chapters have newer references, but not this one. Chapters 12-17 cover in good fashion the topics of water distribution, hydroelectric generation, flood control, storm sewers and detention, street and highway drainage and culverts, and the design of spillways. Chapter 18 covers sedimentation and erosion hydraulics. The chapter begins with a brief but important discussion of bridge failures that are caused by floods, as 84% of the 575,000 bridges in the U.S. National Bridge Inventory have been built over streams that are alluvial and therefore are always re-arranging their streambeds and banks. The costs to society when these bridges are damaged or destroyed are substantial, to say the least. Chapter 19 is the last chapter and covers the topic of water resources management for sustainability. It includes many references that are recent, as evidenced by the inclusion of appropriate websites. Major issues discussed include water law of both surface water and groundwater. The sustainable water supply techniques for arid and semiarid areas form a very useful addition to this concluding chapter. The topics include water reclamation and reuse, aquifer recharge, desalination, water transfers such as the Central Arizona Project, the massive movement of groundwater from an aquifer in southern Libya to northern Libya, the Israeli National Water Carrier system to move water to drier sections of the country, and a long-range plan to transfer water from the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers in south-central China to the drier northern parts of China. The author properly makes it obvious that the plan to divert water that results from an ancient pluvial period in the Sahara to the coastal area along the Mediterranean Sea does not include any recharge, so that it is really a nonrenewable resource. In summary, this is an impressive book. The amount of material covered in a detailed manner is simply astounding. The text is buttressed by a truly extensive collection of tables, graphs, maps, photographs, and references at the end of each chapter. The book is recommended for undergraduate and graduate students in addition to the specialized interests of the professional community of engineers, hydrologists, and water resource specialists. Robert M. Hordon Water Resources Consultant8 Dov PlaceKendall Park, New Jersey 08824 Other Books and Publications Received Water Resources , S.C., Anisfeld . Island Press , 1718 Connecticut Ave. NW, Ste. 300, Washington, D.C. 20009 . 2010 . 330 pages . ISBN 978-1-59726-495-2 . Floods and droughts frequently garner the headlines, but they are just part of the multifaceted water crisis facing the world today. Anisfeld addresses the principal ecological and human problems related to water. After the of hydrology, issues including human and and that the is for water, from to to This can be by the two – and New and for , and ( Editors ). Press , New New . 2010 . pages . . ISBN . This book that recent in material provide to a of water technologies. The book focuses on a from from water, solutions to common water problems, and for water new to the New for Water , S. S. and . Press , for and Hydrology, United . 2010 . pages . . ISBN . This book is the of a on the topic of the book The book includes divided into 11 as and the Water Water and for to Water Role of for to Water Water – and and of in , and S. . Press , for and Hydrology, United . 2010 . pages . . 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