Whereas the global water community may have reached consensus on the need for water providers to operate on the basis of commercial principles, staff of water utilities are faced with the challenge of implementing these principles in their everyday work. In the everyday domain, these principles appear to directly conflict with the mandate of water operators to provide water services to all. Moreover, the socio-political, economic and bio-physical context in which these water operate may be ill-suited to implement commercialization. In pursuing commercialization these operators adapt, reinterpret, modify, deflect, alter or betray the original principles of commercialization during implementation. This research takes inspiration from the rich literature on policy implementation and policy translation, which argues that policy models need to be transformed and modified if they are to be successfully adopted or implemented. This research analyzes the alterations visible in the daily implementation of commercial models of water provisioning and, in doing so, present a better understanding of how water operators implement policy prescriptions of commercialization in practice. Based on the analysis of the adaptations and (re)interpretations of the implemented model of commercialization in the different cases, this thesis argues that a new way of speaking about commercialization should be developed.

The study used a combination of landscape-scale synoptic surveys (catchment, reaches) and mesocosm surveys (experimental plots) to assess the impacts of conversion of natural valley-bottom wetlands to farming land on the water quality and retention of sediment and nutrients. The results showed that temperature, pH, electrical conductivity and dissolved oxygen concentration decreased, and total suspended solids (TSS) increased with storm water increase. Nitrogen (TN) and phosphorus (TP) accumulated in the catchment during the dry season and washed into the water courses during the early stages of the higher flows, with subsequent lower concentrations at the end of the rains due to dilution. Large proportions of the annual loads of TSS, TP and TN (93%, 60% and 67%, respectively) were transported during rainfall events that occurred in 115 days. Fishponds acted as temporal traps of TSS, TN and TP at the early stages of farming, and were a source of and TN and TP at the end of the farming period, in contrast to rice farming that generated sediments and nutrients early in the farming period and trapped them at the end of the farming season. Wetlands mostly acted as sinks but sometimes as a source of sediment and nutrients.

Precipitation drives the dynamics of flows and storages in water systems, making its monitoring essential for water management. Conventionally, precipitation is monitored using in-situ and remote sensors. In-situ sensors are arranged in networks, which are usually sparse, providing continuous observations for long periods at fixed points in space, and due to the high costs of such networks, they are often sub-optimal. To increase the efficiency of the monitoring networks, we explore the use of sensors that can relocate as rainfall events develop (dynamic sensors), as well as increasing the number of sensors involving volunteers (citizens). This research focusses on the development of an approach for merging heterogeneous observations in non-stationary precipitation fields, exploring the interactions between different definitions of optimality for the design of sensor networks, as well as development of algorithms for the optimal scheduling of dynamic sensors. This study was carried out in three different case studies, including Bacchiglione River (Italy), Don River (U.K.) and Brue Catchment (U.K.) The results of this study indicate that optimal use of dynamic sensors may be useful for monitoring precipitation to support water management and flow forecasting.

An increasing number of hydrological datasets from earth observations, hydrological models and seasonal forecasts have become available for water managers, consultants and the general public. These datasets are state-of-the-art products which are usually accessible online and may contribute to develop hydrological studies and support water resources management. However, the added value of these datasets has not been completely explored in decision-making processes. Research studies have assessed how well data can help in predicting climate, but there is a lack of knowledge on how well data can help in water allocation decisions. This work provides numerical tools, methods and results to evaluate the value of using hydrological datasets to support water allocation decisions at river basin and irrigation district scale. An integrated approach is used to predict climate, improve decisions and reduce negative impacts. Results show that investing in hydrological data with finer spatial and temporal resolution and longer periods of record improves water allocation decisions and reduces agricultural production loss in large irrigation schemes. Using river discharge data from hydrological models and global precipitation enhances irrigation area planning when little in-situ data is available. Moreover, using seasonal streamflow forecasts improves available water estimates resulting in better water allocation decisions. The framework was tested in Costa Rica, Colombia and Australia, but can be applied in any case study around the world.

This exciting and diverse collection on conservation originally published between 1974 and 2002, draws together research by leading academics in the area of conservation and provides a focused and interdisciplinary approach to the subject area. Comprised of 8 volumes, the collection offers a diverse snapshot of some important areas in the study of conservation, including: Home conservation; Biodiversity and ecosystems; Trade in wildlife; Environmental campaigning; Political environmentalism This academically stimulating set brings back into print a selection of previously unavailable titles, which addresses areas that are of even more importance and interest in the present day than at their time of publication and will provide a must-have resource for academics and students seeking to better understand conservation and environmental change. The collection will appeal to not only those working in the environmental sciences, but also in the areas of politics, economics and geography.

The literature of hydrology abounds with texts on the hydrological and water resource problems in humid regions. However, this is not the case for the arid or semi arid regions. The situation is exemplified by the fact a concrete definition for the term "wadi", as accepted by UNESCO for describing these areas, is difficult to find. Arguably the first book devoted entirely to examining this important resource, Wadi Hydrology presents methodologies for sustainable management of wadis and their water resources. Through unique physical approaches, field cases, sample interpretations, and various applications to different models, this book provides an in-depth understanding of these systems that illustrates the efficiency of harnessing water from wadis. The author compiles the most up-to-date information on arid region hydrology, including specific techniques for hydrological calculations and desertification assessments, and includes examples and solved problems in each chapter.

Originally published in 1974, Arctic and Alpine Environments examines, the relatively simple ecosystems of arctic and alpine lands that still occupy extensive areas little disturbed by modern technology. The book argues that there is a necessity for carefully controlled development of the resources of these regions and suggests that there is a risk of irreversible disturbance without full understanding of these regions. This book provides a detailed documentation of cold-stressed arctic and alpine terrestrial environments and systematically deals with the present and past physical environment - climate, hydrology and glaciology; biota - treeline, vegetation, vertebrate zoology, and historical biogeography; abiotic processes - geomorphological and pedological and the role of man - bioclimatology, archaeology and technological impact, including radioecology. The book will appeal to academics and students of environmental and biological science, as well as providing a significant source for conservationists', government agencies and industrial organizations.

Originally published in 1998, Southern Forested Wetlands is an up to date, one source compendium of current knowledge on the wetland ecology of America's southern forests. This book presents both the ecological and management aspects of these important ecosystems. The book was compiled by members of the Consortium for Research on southern forested wetlands, and was a collaboration of those working to conserve, study, and manage these economically and environmentally influential areas. The book covers geographic ranges from West Virginia to Florida, to Texas and inland north to Arkansas and Tennessee. It also addresses specific wetland types, including deep-water swamps, major and minor alluvial flood plains, pocosins and Carolina bays, mountain fens, pond cypress swamps, flatwoods wetlands, and mangroves.

The hydrogeologic environment of fractured rocks represents vital natural systems, examples of which occur on every continent. This book discusses key issues, methodologies and techniques in the hydrogeology of fractured rocks, summarizing recent progress and anticipating the outcome of future investigations. Forty-four revised and updated papers were selected from extended abstracts presented at the International Conference on Groundwater in Fractured Rocks, held in Prague in 2003 and these provide a valuable benchmark reference for studies in fractured rock hydrogeology worldwide. Topics include sustainable groundwater development, groundwater protection and management, new and improved approaches to the investigating hydrogeology of fractured systems, understanding of hydrogeologic properties both on local and regional scales, and both quantitative and qualitative aspects of groundwater flow and solute/contaminant transport.

Groundwater resources are facing increasing pressure from consuming and contaminating activities. There is a growing awareness that the quantitative and qualitative preservation of groundwater resources is a global need, not only to safeguard their future use for public supply and irrigation, but also to protect those ecosystems that depend partially or entirely on groundwater to maintain their species composition and natural ecological processes. Known as groundwater dependent ecosystems (GDEs), they have been a fast-growing field of research during the last two decades. This book is intended to provide a diverse overview of important studies on groundwater and ecosystems, including a toolbox for assessing the ecological water requirements for GDEs, and relevant case studies on groundwater/surface-water interactions, as well as the role of nutrients in groundwater for GDEs and ecosystem dependence (vegetation and cave fauna) on groundwater. Case studies are from Australia (nine studies) and Europe (12 studies from nine countries) as well as Argentina, Canada and South Africa. This book is of interest to everybody dealing with groundwater and its relationship with ecosystems. It is highly relevant for researchers, managers and decision-makers in the field of water and environment. It provides up-to-date information on crucial factors and parameters that need to be considered when studying groundwater-ecosystem relationships in different environments worldwide.

Originally published in 1988 Deforestation examines deforestation as a major environmental and development problem. It examines the issues of forests being cut in tropical and mountain areas, and how acid rain, pollution and disease wreak havoc in temperate zones. Some of the worst effects of deforestation have been changes in the world's climate system, erosion and flooding, desertification, wood short-ages and the disappearance of some floral and fauna species. This book challenges the belief that deforestation is due to entirely rapid population growth and agricultural expansion and emphasises the effects of commercial exploitation and poor planning and management. In concludes with a programme for reforestation using agro-forestry, appropriate cottage industries, improved international programmes, local land reforms and community participation.

Originally published in 1982, Biogeographical Processes is a concise introduction to biogeography aimed at undergraduate students. It provides a detailed overview of man and his environment and includes data from such research projects as that of the International Biological Programme. The book argues that natural processes can be viewed as a datum line to which the human impact through time is added. It suggests that through this datum line, the man and the biological environment are inextricably linked. The book firstly examines the fundamental processes determining the distribution of plants and animals, and the interactions between such processes leading to the concept of the ecosystem. The book also examines major world ecosystems, or biomes, such as forests, grasslands and oceans as if they were in a natural condition and discusses the affect of human impact upon such systems. The book also discusses the alternative future relationships of man and other living organisms. Although over 30 years old, the book still contains a useful and detailed overview of biogeography. It will be of interest to students or lecturers in ecology, biology and the environmental sciences.

This bibliography reflects the tremendous growth of interest in groundwater, which has occurred in recent years, dealing with a particular aspect of the field of hydrogeology. It will be helpful to those searching for information on management and protection of the groundwater resource.

This book discusses the development of the decision support system for groundwater pollution assessment, one of the first integrated information systems in the field of hydrogeology, reflecting the purpose of knowledge encapsulation in the field of groundwater quality management.

Published in 1995: This book is not designed as a culture manual for herbivorous fishes, but the reader is directed to other sources. This book should meet the needs that exist for a comprehensive publication on herbivorous fishes.

This book is a multidisciplinary manuscript bringing together contributions on water issues from natural and social scientists focused on water management and structures in a challenging environmental situation such as Dakhla Oasis in Egypt's western desert. The authors of this book are relevant scientists in hydrology, geology, remote sensing, agriculture, history, and sociology. It is devoted to various critical environmental topics such as geological and hydraulic structure, climate influence, underground water management, irrigation management, and human settlement. The book provides a range of new perspectives on solving different environmental problems in arid zones toward the region's sustainable development, based on the case studies and fieldwork in the Dakhla Oasis (Western Desert, Egypt).

Treatment Marshes for Runoff and Polishing represents the most comprehensive and up-date-date resource for the design, construction, and operation of marsh treatment systems. This new edition represents a complete rewrite of the surface flow sections of previous editions of Treatment Wetlands. It is based on the performance hundreds of treatment marshes over the past 40 years. Treatment Marshes focuses on urban and agricultural runoff, river and lake water improvement, and highly treated municipal effluents. New information from the past dozen years is used to improve data interpretation and design concepts. Topics included in this book are Diversity of marsh vegetation Analyses of the human use of treatment marshes New concepts of underground processes and functions Spectrum of marsh values spanning mitigation, restoration, enhancement, and water quality improvement Improved methods for calculation of evapotranspiration and wetland water temperatures Hydraulics of surface and subsurface flows in marshes Analysis of long track records for deterministic and probabilistic behavior Consideration of integrated microbial and vegetative contaminant removals via mass balances Uptake and emission of gases Performance of urban and agricultural wetlands Design procedures for urban and agricultural wetlands Reduction of trace metals, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, endocrine disruptors, and trace organics Updated capital and O&M economics, and valuation of ancillary benefits An updated list of over 1900 references

Nitrogen rich wastewaters (10-400 mg N L-1) are usually produced by municipal, industrial and agricultural wastes, such as effluents from anaerobic treatments. These represent a risk to the environment due to the high nutrient concentrations (nitrogen and phosphorous), which can cause eutrophication of water bodies, deteriorating the quality of the ecosystems. As a solution, the potential nitrogen removal capacity of a novel bio-treatment system, namely the Photo-Activated Sludge (PAS), which is composed of microalgae and bacteria consortia, is presented in this thesis. This novel bio-treatment is based on the symbiosis between microalgae, nitrifiers and heterotrophic bacteria (microalgal-bacterial consortia). Experimental work using photobioreactors for the cultivation of microalgae and bacteria under sequencing batch conditions showed that microalgal-bacterial consortia can remove ammonium 50% faster than solely microalgal consortia. The increase in ammonium removal rates was due to the action of nitrifying bacteria, supplied with oxygen produced by algae. Nitrification was the main ammonium removal mechanism within the microalgal-bacterial biomass, followed by algal uptake and nutrient requirements for bacterial growth. Carbon oxidation and denitrification were the main removal mechanisms for organic carbon. Hence, the role of algae within the microalgal-bacterial system is to provide oxygen to support the aerobic processes. The microalgal-bacterial system offers the possibility of reducing the hydraulic retention time, which can decrease the large area requirements often demanded by algal systems.

This open access book brings together research studies, developments, and application-related flash flood topics on wadi systems in arid regions. The major merit of this comprehensive book is its focus on research and technical papers as well as case study applications in different regions worldwide that cover many topics and answer several scientific questions. The book chapters comprehensively and significantly highlight different scientific research disciplines related to wadi flash floods, including climatology, hydrological models, new monitoring techniques, remote sensing techniques, field investigations, international collaboration projects, risk assessment and mitigation, sedimentation and sediment transport, and groundwater quality and quantity assessment and management. In this book, the contributing authors (engineers, researchers, and professionals) introduce their recent scientific findings to develop suitable, applicable, and innovative tools for forecasting, mitigation, and water management as well as society development under seven main research themes as follows: Part 1. Wadi Flash Flood Challenges and Strategies Part 2. Hydrometeorology and Climate Changes Part 3. Rainfall-Runoff Modeling and Approaches Part 4. Disaster Risk Reduction and Mitigation Part 5. Reservoir Sedimentation and Sediment Yield Part 6. Groundwater Management Part 7. Application and Case Studies The book includes selected high-quality papers from five series of the International Symposium on Flash Floods in Wadi Systems (ISFF) that were held in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2020 in Japan, Egypt, Oman, Morocco, and Japan, respectively. These collections of chapters could provide valuable guidance and scientific content not only for academics, researchers, and students but also for decision-makers in the MENA region and worldwide.

Richard John Chorley was known as a leading figure in quantitative geography in the late 20th Century and played an instrumental role in bringing the use of systems theory to geography. This set of 7 reissued works either edited by or written by Chorley offers a great wealth of scholarship on geography and geomorphology.

There is no more fundamental substance to life on earth than water. Three quarter of the Earth's surface is covered by either saltwater or freshwater, yet millions face a daily struggle to access enough water for survival. The effects of ongoing climate change have expanded the water crisis to areas previously considered water secure. This book addresses the role rainwater harvesting (rwh) can play in developing a resilient water infrastructure that will prove adaptive to climate change. The book features three sections. The first section presents the concepts underpinning a new approach to water infrastructure. The term "the worth of water" was developed to reflect the importance of the social life of water. This encompasses all human relationships with water including the social, cultural, hydrological, political, economic, technical and spiritual. A technology portfolio showcasing the worth of water from the Qanats of the ancient world to the modern Rain Cities is presented. Other concepts discussed include the circular economy of water and the concept of multiple waters for multiple users of multiple qualities. Water and its properties are a function of its peculiar molecular structure and this is illustrated in the book. Rainwater harvesting is considered by the authors as containing an inherent treatment train which functions as a complex water treatment system providing physical, chemical and biological removal mechanisms. Part two presents a new design methodology together with design templates and worked examples for the hydraulic and economic analysis of rwh systems. A state-of-the-art literature review of the potential health implications of utilizing rwh is also presented. The final section of the book discusses how rwh can play a vital role in contributing to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and to living within the Planetary Boundaries.

This book contains technical papers, presented at the Fourth International Symposium on Chemical Oxidation: Technology for the Nineties held in Tennessee in 1984, on theory, design, and practices of chemical oxidation processes applied to environmental problems.

The science-policy interface is critical to the design and implementation of water policies. In theory, scientists provide policy makers with robust facts and data that can help guide decision making, and lessons from the political economy of reforms can push scientific boundaries further to trigger further research for wise solutions. While evidence-based policy is obviously desirable, in practice such a connection is not always straightforward. Another assumption behind the science-policy gap is the discrepancy between scientists and policy makers in terms of culture, process, timing, language and expected outcome. This book tries to reconcile this discrepancy through a multi-stakeholder approach to authoring its different articles. This joint initiative between the OECD - particularly its Water Governance Initiative - and the International Water Resources Association seeks to provide a canvas for grounding water policy in science, and vice versa. The objective of this book, devoted to the OECD Principles on Water Governance, is to use the OECD Principles as a common thread across the articles to draw lessons from theoretical work and practical experiences in water governance reforms; but also to only feature papers authored by groups of diverse stakeholders from different institutional backgrounds. This book was originally published as a special issue of Water International.

The aim of this Ph.D. was to develop a technology for the remediation of seleniferous soils/sediments and to explore microbial reduction of selenium oxyanions under different respiration conditions and bioreactor configurations. Seleniferous soil collected from the wheat-grown agricultural land in Punjab (India) was characterized and its soil washing was optimized by varying parameters, where addition of oxidizing agents showed a maximum selenium removal efficiency. Aquatic plants, Lemna minor and Egeria densa were used to study phytoremediation of the selenium-rich soil leachate containing oxidizing agents. Additionally, migration of the soluble selenium fraction from the upper to the lower layers and its subsequent reduction and accumulation in the lower layers of the soil column was observed during soil flushing. Furthermore, the soil leachate containing selenium oxyanions obtained from soil washing was treated in a UASB reactor by varying the organic feed. Ex situ bioremediation of selenium oxyanions was studied under variable conditions. An aerobic bacterium (Delftia lacustris) capable of transforming selenate and selenite to elemental selenium was isolated and characterized. Anaerobic bioreduction of selenate coupled to methane oxidation was investigated in serum bottles and a biotrickling filter using marine sediment as inoculum. Finally, the effect of contamination of other chalcogen oxyanions (tellurium) on selenium bioreduction was studied in a continuous system (UASB reactor).

The role of small hydropower is becoming increasingly important on a global level. Increasing energy demand and environmental awareness has further triggered research and development into sustainable low-cost technologies. In developing countries, particularly in rural areas, the possibility of local power generation could considerably improve living conditions. With this in mind, the development of a next generation low-head hydropower machines was subject of investigation in the EU-project HYLOW. Being part of the research lines of that project, this thesis presents a numerical modelling approach to improve the design of machines like water wheels for increased hydraulic efficiency. Nowadays, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) enables numerical models to be quite accurate and incorporate physical complexities like free surfaces and rotating machines. The results of the CFD simulations carried out in this research show that a change in blade geometry can result in higher torque levels, thereby increasing performance. Numerical simulations also enabled to determine the optimal wheel-width to channel-width ratio and further improve performance by modifying the channel bed conditions upstream and downstream of the water wheel. With a power rating in the low kilowatt range, low-head hydropower machines like optimised water wheels seem to have a clear potential for small-scale energy generation, thereby contributing to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by providing local energy solutions.