Over the past two decades a quiet revolution has been taking place in the countryside of China where hundreds of millions of people have been lifted out of poverty. This book focuses on some of the practical actions and clever use of appropriate technologies which have been at the heart of this positive grassroots-driven change in rural Gansu Province. Key to this has been mobilizing the population and their expeditious use of rainwater harvesting both to dramatically improve crop yields and provide households with reliable domestic water supplies. Since Gansu is semi-arid and stored rainwater a scarce resource, ingenious systems of providing crops with just the right amount of supplementary irrigation at critical periods have been developed. Challenges such as lack of fuelwood have been overcome by the development of simple low-cost solar cookers, which by focusing the sun s rays using tiny mirrors can boil a kettle in minutes. These affordable units are now being produced at hundreds of small rural factories. The construction of low-cost greenhouses using plastic sheeting allows for the collection of rainwater and its use in efficient drip irrigation systems. By supplying vegetables and cash crops to local markets farmers have been able to repay their initial investment in under two years. The real significance of this case study is that most of the approaches described are based on universal principles of sustainable development. "Every Last Drop" is recommended reading for engineers, planners, staff of NGOs, academics and students in the water, energy, and agriculture sectors."

People are increasingly aware of the role that water has in shaping society and how it impacts quality of life. This is the first book to provide a holistic perspective on water, capturing the full breadth of the science, technology, policy, history, and future outlook for the most important substance on earth - written at a level accessible to non-experts in each of these areas.Water is shockingly bizarre in its properties and of unsurpassed importance throughout human history, yet so mundane as to often be invisible in our daily lives. In Water Is ..., the two Seths (Darling and Snyder) walk the reader through all of the diverse perspectives on water. The journey begins with an exploration of the mysteries of water's properties on the molecular level, zooming out through its central role at biological and geological scales. Next, the Seths travel through the history of human civilization, highlighting the fundamental part water has played throughout, including the complexities of water policy, privatization, and pricing in today's world. Attention then turns to technology and innovation, emphasizing the daunting challenges dictated by increasing water stress and a changing climate as well as the enticing opportunities to achieve a secure global water future.Water is arguably the single most interdisciplinary topic. Students in business, policy, history, science, and engineering can best position themselves to make an impact by learning about the entire range of diverse, unexpected, and fascinating angles on water.Related Link(s)

People are increasingly aware of the role that water has in shaping society and how it impacts quality of life. This is the first book to provide a holistic perspective on water, capturing the full breadth of the science, technology, policy, history, and future outlook for the most important substance on earth - written at a level accessible to non-experts in each of these areas.Water is shockingly bizarre in its properties and of unsurpassed importance throughout human history, yet so mundane as to often be invisible in our daily lives. In Water Is ..., the two Seths (Darling and Snyder) walk the reader through all of the diverse perspectives on water. The journey begins with an exploration of the mysteries of water's properties on the molecular level, zooming out through its central role at biological and geological scales. Next, the Seths travel through the history of human civilization, highlighting the fundamental part water has played throughout, including the complexities of water policy, privatization, and pricing in today's world. Attention then turns to technology and innovation, emphasizing the daunting challenges dictated by increasing water stress and a changing climate as well as the enticing opportunities to achieve a secure global water future.Water is arguably the single most interdisciplinary topic. Students in business, policy, history, science, and engineering can best position themselves to make an impact by learning about the entire range of diverse, unexpected, and fascinating angles on water.Related Link(s)

Seawater desalination is a rapidly growing coastal industry that is increasingly threatened by algal blooms. Depending on the severity of algal blooms, desalination systems may be forced to shut down because of clogging and/or poor feed water quality. To maintain stable operation and provide good feed water quality to seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) systems, ultrafiltration (UF) pre-treatment is proposed. This research focused on assessing the ability of UF and other pre-treatment technologies to reduce biofouling in SWRO systems. An improved method to measure bacterial regrowth potential (BRP) was developed and applied at laboratory, pilot and full scale to assess the ability of conventional UF (150 kDa) and tight UF (10 kDa) alone and in combination with a phosphate adsorbent to reduce regrowth potential and delay the onset of biofouling in SWRO. The improved bacterial regrowth potential method employs a natural consortium of marine bacteria as inoculum and flow cytometry. The limit of detection of the BRP method was lowered to 43,000 +/- 12,000 cells/mL, which is equivalent to 9.3 +/- 2.6 g-Cglucose/L. The reduction in bacterial regrowth potential after tight UF (10 kDa) was 3 to 4 times higher than with conventional UF (150 kDa). It was further reduced after the application of a phosphate adsorbent, independent of pore size of the UF membrane. Pilot studies demonstrated that the application of tight UF (10 kDa) coupled with a phosphate adsorbent consistently lowered the bacterial regrowth potential and no feed channel pressure drop increase was observed in membrane fouling simulators (MFS) over a period of 21 days. The study also showed that non-backwashable fouling of UF membranes varied strongly with the type of algal species and the algal organic matter (AOM) they release. The presence of polysaccharide (stretching -OH) and sugar ester groups (stretching S=O) was the main cause of non-backwashable fouling. In conclusion, this study showed that an improved BRP method is suitable for the assessment of SWRO pre-treatment systems and it can be a useful tool to develop potential strategies to mitigate biofouling and improve the sustainability of SWRO systems.

Reservoir operation is a multi-objective optimization problem, and is traditionally solved with dynamic programming (DP) and stochastic dynamic programming (SDP) algorithms. The thesis presents novel algorithms for optimal reservoir operation, named nested DP (nDP), nested SDP (nSDP), nested reinforcement learning (nRL) and their multi-objective (MO) variants, correspondingly MOnDP, MOnSDP and MOnRL. The idea is to include a nested optimization algorithm into each state transition, which reduces the initial problem dimension and alleviates the curse of dimensionality. These algorithms can solve multi-objective optimization problems, without significantly increasing the algorithm complexity or the computational expenses. It can additionally handle dense and irregular variable discretization. All algorithms are coded in Java and were tested on the case study of the Knezevo reservoir in the Republic of Macedonia. Nested optimization algorithms are embedded in a cloud application platform for water resources modeling and optimization. The platform is available 24/7, accessible from everywhere, scalable, distributed, interoperable, and it creates a real-time multiuser collaboration platform. This thesis contributes with new and more powerful algorithms for an optimal reservoir operation and cloud application platform. All source codes are available for public use and can be used by researchers and practitioners to further advance the mentioned areas.

Selenium (Se) and tellurium (Te) are metalloids of commercial interest due to their physicochemical properties. The water soluble oxyanions of these elements (selenite, selenate, tellurite and tellurate) exhibit high toxicities; hence, their release in the environment is of great concern. This study demonstrates the potential use of fungi as Se- and Te-reducing organisms. The response of Phanerochaete chrysosporium to the presence of selenite and tellurite was evaluated, as well as its potential application in wastewater treatment and production of nanoparticles. Growth stress and morphological changes were induced in P. chrysosoporium when exposed to selenite and tellurite. Synthesis of Se0 and Te0 nanoparticles entrapped in the fungal biomass was observed, as well as the formation of unique Se0-Te0 nanocomposites when the fungus was cultivated concurrently with Se and Te. The response of P. chrysosporium to selenite exposure was investigated in different modes of fungal growth (pellets and biofilm). A bioprocess for selenite removal and Se0 nanoparticles recovery using an up-flow fungal pelleted reactor was developed. 70% selenite removal (10 mg Se L-1 d-1) was achieved under continuous mode. The use of Se0 nanoparticles immobilized in P. chrysosporium pellets as a new sorbent material for the removal of heavy metals from wastewater was demonstrated.

Dr. Hossen carried out an exceptional program of research in Bangladesh which focused on water governance in relation to human rights, international water law and environmental sustainability. His major argument is that eco-agricultural system encounters major disruptions due to a number of factors including regional hydropolitics and neoliberal and highly centralized approaches to water resource management that follow the principles of "ecocracy." In this context, Dr. Hossen explores three major questions: (i) How can local ecological knowledge be incorporated into national water policy? (ii) What strategies and reforms are required at the international watershed governance level? and (iii) How can human rights principles, including the principle of water as a human right, be used to formulate more effective water policy and governance principles? To answer these questions, Dr. Hossen explores the effects of regional hydropolitics on water management, focusing on three large engineering projects, the Farakka Barrage built by India on the Ganges River, and the Ganges-Kobodak (GK) and Gorai River Restoration (GRR) Projects in Bangladesh. This analysis is based on his research into local knowledge and farming practices during a year of fieldwork in 2011-12, focus group discussions, in-depth case studies and social survey methods. In addition to this primary data, he looks at extensive secondary documents from the government of Bangladesh pertaining to water management, agricultural modernization and institutional structures. The arguments herein are applicable particularly to the Ganges-Brahmaputra Basin countries in South Asia but also to the river basins of other parts of the world.

The main objective of this research was to optimize the electron donor supply in sulphate reducing bioreactors treating sulphate rich wastewater. Two types of electron donor were tested: lactate and slow release electron donors such as carbohydrate based polymers and lignocellulosic biowastes. Biological sulphate reduction was evaluated in different bioreactor configurations: the inverse fluidized bed, sequencing batch and batch reactors. The reactors were tested under steady-state, high-rate and transient-state feeding conditions of electron donor and acceptor, respectively. The results showed that the inverse fluidized bed reactor configuration is robust and resilient to transient and high-rate feeding conditions at a hydraulic retention time as low as 0.125 d. The biological sulphate reduction was limited by the COD:sulphate ratio (< 1.7). The results from artificial neural network modelling showed that the influent sulphate concentrations synergistically affected the COD removal efficiency and the sulphide production. Concerning the role of electron donors, the slow release electron donors allowed a biological sulphate reduction > 82% either using carbohydrate based polymers or lignocellulosic bio-wastes, in batch bioreactors. The biological sulphate reduction was limited by the hydrolysis-fermentation rate and by the complexity of the slow release electron donors.

This book reviews comprehensively the opportunities and responsibilities of science, society and politics to combat plastic pollution in marine and freshwaters. It provides insights on what information is needed, and from whom, and it outlines policies proposed by various institutions including OSPAR, HELCOM and the European Union. Plastic waste has become a global threat to the aquatic environment that does not stop at country borders. Meanwhile, there are many efforts in science, industry, commerce and governments to tackle the problem worldwide. School education, NGO public actions, voluntary trade reduction measures, governmental management options and governmental regulatory actions are part of the portfolio of efforts to deal with the problem. Together with the companion volume Plastics in the Aquatic Environment - Part I: Current Status and Challenges, it provides scientists, policymakers and environmental managers with essential reference information on how this problem is being solved, what challenges and barriers are expected and how they can be overcome.

An essential introduction to the powerful new developments in optoelectronics

Tunable laser diodes, characterized by their unique ability to "tune in"to different wavelengths, thus significantly improving the efficiency of the switch, are rapidly becoming key components for advanced optical communication. Tunable Laser Diodes and Related Optical Sources, Second Edition is a much-needed single reference covering the range of optical networks and the components they require, with emphasis on tunable lasers. Written by respected experts in this groundbreaking technology, this resource covers fundamentals not only of tunable laser diodes, but also modern laser diodes in general, from theory to applications.

Highlights include: Basic properties of semiconductor lasers Essential properties for single-mode laser diodes Principles, design and practice of tunable laser diodes Optical components related to tunable lasers and non-semiconductor tunable lasers Application areas like optical communication, radar, environmental sensing, reflectometry, and circuit analysis

Designed for engineers developing tunable lasers for optical networks, as well as graduate students enrolled in the optical engineering curriculum, Tunable Laser Diodes and Related Optical Sources, Second Edition promises to be the definitive resource on this groundbreaking optoelectronics technology.

At a time of great turmoil and crisis, environmentally, socially and politically, water has emerged as a topic of huge global concern. Moreover, many argue that what is needed in order to change our relationship with the environment is a cultural paradigm shift. To this end, this volume brings together diverse approaches to exploring human relationships with the watery world and the other living things that rely upon it. Through exploring multiple creative ways of engaging with water and people, the volume adds to the current zeitgeist of writing about water by expanding the discussion about this vital substance and how, as humans, we relate to it. Chapters focus on creative explorations and explorations of creativity in relation to developing these understandings, including concepts such as hydrocitizenship and responses to drought and flooding. Drawing on the in-depth research and experience of arts practitioners including participatory artists, as well as academics from a variety of fields including geography, anthropology, health studies and environmental humanities, the book provides a rich and multidisciplinary perspective on water and creative ways of engaging and understanding human-water relationships. It represents a valuable source and inspiration for academics, arts practitioners and those involved in environmental policy and governance.

Approximately 80 per cent of the population of Latin America is concentrated in urban centres. Pressure on water resources and water management in cities therefore provide major challenges. Despite the importance of the issues, there has been little systematic coverage of the topic in book form. This work fills a gap in the literature by providing both thematic overviews and case study chapters. It reviews key aspects of why water matters in cities and presents case studies on topics such as groundwater management, green growth and water services, inequalities in water supply, the financing of water services and flood management. Detailed examples are described from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico and Peru, and there is also a chapter comparing lessons which might be learnt from US cities. Contributing authors are drawn from both within and outside the region, including from the Inter-American Development Bank, OECD and World Bank to set the issues in a global context.

Water conflicts in India have now percolated to every level. They are aggravated by the relative paucity of frameworks, policies and mechanisms to govern the use of water resources. Based on the premise that understanding and documenting different types of water conflict cases in all their complexity would contribute to informed public debate and facilitate their resolution, Forum for Policy Dialogue on Water Conflicts in India, a collaborative initiative of the WWF project 'Dialogue on Water, Food and Environment', documented a number of such case studies. One of its kind in India, this book brings together an impressive sixty-three case studies - summarized status of the conflicts, the issues involved and their current position - and gives us a glimpse into 'the million revolts' that are brewing around water. While recognizing that each conflict is a microcosm of wider conflicts, the editors have classified these cases into eight broad themes that try to capture the dominant aspect of the conflict. These are: contending water uses; dams and displacement; equity-access-allocations; micro-level conflicts; water quality; trans-boundary conflicts; privatization; sand excavation and mining. With a mix of academics and activists as contributors, the book makes an important contribution to a new discourse on water in general, and water conflicts and conflict resolution in particular.

The evolution and utilization of estuarine and coastal regions are greatly restricted by sediment problems. This thesis aims to better understand fine sediment transport under combined action of waves and currents, especially in the wave-current bottom boundary layer (BBL). Field observations, experimental data analysis, theoretical analysis and numerical models are employed. Silt-dominated sediments are sensitive to flow dynamics and the suspended sediment concentration (SSC) increase rapidly under strong flow dynamics. This research unveils several fundamental aspects of silty sediment, i.e., the criterion of the incipient motion, the SSC profiles and their phase-averaged parameterization in wave-dominated conditions. An expression for sediment incipient motion is proposed for silt-sand sediment under combined wave and current conditions. A process based intra-wave 1DV model for flow-sediment dynamics near the bed is developed in combined wave-current conditions. The high concentration layer (HCL) was simulated and sensitivity analysis was carried out by the 1DV model on factors that impact the SSC in the HCL. Finally, based on the 1DV model, the formulations of the mean SSC profile of silt-sand sediments in wave conditions were proposed. The developed approaches are expected to be applied in engineering practice and further simulation.

This book embodies the potentials of nanobiotechnology-based water treatment techniques to provide a solid understanding of the subjects. Starting with a refresher of the basic conventional technologies which are now been integrated with nanomaterials for an efficient, viable, and eco-friendly treatment of contaminated water. The book covers various physical, chemical, and hybrid methods of nanobiomaterial synthesis and their fabrication for characterizing existing techniques. The book gives special attention to those nanotechnology-based approaches that promise easier, faster, and cheaper processes in contaminants monitoring and their treatment. Several case studies explain in an easy to understand format how employing nanobiomaterials as an indicator and analytical tool will enable students to learn about cleaning up the environment.

This study presents a multi-disciplinary approach for investigating the interactions between groundwater and surface water in the semi-arid Hailiutu catchment in the Erdos Plateau, Northwest China. The study consists of statistical detection of river flow regime shifts at the basin level; multiple in-situ measurements for quantifying groundwater discharges using hydraulic, hydrochemical and temperature methods at a local scale; analysis and simulation of impacts of different land use scenarios on groundwater and surface water interactions at the sub-catchment scale; and the quantification of temporal and spatial groundwater and surface water interactions with hydrochemical tracers and modelling methods at the basin scale. The study found that the river flow consists of mainly groundwater discharges at all scales. The river flow regime has been intensively altered by human activities, such as the construction of reservoirs, water diversion, groundwater exploitation, and reforestation. Water use by plants and crops consumes majority of the precipitation. Groundwater sustains vegetation growth and feeds river discharges. The water resources and ecosystem management priority should reduce evaporative water uses by promoting dry resistant plant species for vegetating sand dunes and lower irrigation demand crops for socio-economic development. Furthermore, the Hailiutu River catchment must manage the groundwater recharge for water resource conservation and the maintenance of healthy ecosystems.

Urban Water Distribution Networks: Assessing Systems Vulnerabilities and Risks provides a methodology for a system-wide assessment of water distribution networks (WDN) based on component analysis, network topology and, most importantly, the effects of a network's past performance on its seismic and/or non-seismic reliability. Water distribution networks engineers and system designers face multiple operational issues in delivering safe and clean potable water to their customers.

This is the third volume of the proceedings of the 8th International Congress on Environmental Geotechnics (ICEG 2018), held on October 28 - November 1, 2018 in Hangzhou, China. The theme of the congress is "Towards a Sustainable Geoenvironment", which means meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Under this theme, the congress covers a broad range of topics and provides an excellent opportunity for academics, engineers, scientists, government officials, regulators, and planners to present, discuss and exchange notes on the latest advances and developments in the research and application of environmental geotechnics.

Attending water security is an important challenge and a major systemic risk humanity faces in the years to come. This is due to population increase, over-consumption of water, especially in agriculture, climate change and various forms of water pollution. The issue becomes more complicated in transboundary water catchments that cover almost half of the world's land surface, with about 60% of global river flow and 40% of the world's population. Also, in many parts of the planet, like Saharan Africa, population depends on groundwater resources located in transboundary aquifer systems. These facts illustrate the importance of the book's subject, which is the governance of transboundary waters, both surface and groundwater. The book is written by two distinguished scientists, who, having worked in various international institutions, like UNESCO, GEF, UNEP and at the European Commission, have both an extended expertise on how to bridge the gap between science and political decision-making, which is the main factor for an effective governance of water resources. What is new in the book is the integrated analysis of transboundary governance of both surface water and groundwater, as it occurs in reality. In current literature, groundwater is still often missing for the benefit of surface water or, on the contrary, it is treated separately from surface water. The most important feature of the book is to distinguish between the real and a "good" or an effective transboundary water governance and to provide practical tools, methodologies and examples for its implementation in the field. Published timely during 2018, the book will contribute to address successfully practical problems of governance of transboundary waters that represent a very important part of our precious fresh water resources.

Decision-Making in Water Resource Policy and Management: An Australian Perspective presents the latest information in developing new decision-making processes. Topics covered include key aspects of water resources planning, recent water resource policy changes in irrigation, urban, and environmental considerations, the evolution of a water market, a number of case studies that provide real examples of improved decision-making, transfer of the Australian experience overseas, and challenges for the future. Many countries are experiencing major water scarcity problems which will likely intensify with the continued impacts of climate change. In response to this challenge, there is increased worldwide focus on the development of more sustainable and integrated water resource policies. The Australian experience over the past three decades has led to major improvements in the decision-making processes in water resources policy and management, particularly in response to drought and climate change, providing a great model on which other nations can use and adapt. This information is essential to early to mid-career practitioners engaged in policy, planning and operational roles in all fields of water resource policy and management, and catchment management.

Based on new primary and secondary drinking water standards, this detailed manual presents water treatment methods that are considered the "best available technology" by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It examines the design of water supplies for membrane water treatment plants, including reverse osmosis, membrane filtration, and electrodialysis methods, and it explains process design and the water quality problems associated with each process. It also considers significant aspects of membrane process and groundwater and surface water supply development. Information necessary to operate water supplies and evaluate problems in the system are provided, in addition to specific well construction details necessary for the water wells used to supply membrane plants.

Water for the Environment: From Policy and Science to Implementation and Management provides a holistic view of environmental water management, offering clear links across disciplines that allow water managers to face mounting challenges. The book highlights current challenges and potential solutions, helping define the future direction for environmental water management. In addition, it includes a significant review of current literature and state of knowledge, providing a one-stop resource for environmental water managers.

Sealing of boreholes and underground excavations has not received much engineering attention until fairly recently. The growing awareness of and sensitivity to environmental concerns of the technical community as well as of the public at large has resulted in an increasing recognition of the fact that these geological penetrations may have an environmental impact. The issue of possible contamination resulting from migration along boreholes, adits, shafts or tunnels unquestionably has been raised most forcefully with in the context of nuclear waste disposal. Several nuclear waste disposal programs, notably the Civilian and the Defence programs of the US De partment of Energy, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Canadian and Swedish radioactive waste disposal programs have conducted major research efforts aimed at developing adequate seal designs for penet rations in host rock formations for high-level nuclear waste repositories. While a considerable data base has been gathered over the last two decades or so with regard to the performance of seals, most of the information is presented in research reports and widely scattered papers in journals and proceedings of conferences. Hence, the materials are not readily accessible to potential users such as designers, contractors or regulators who are not familiar with nuclear waste disposal programs."

Although several monographs and reviews have appeared on individual polymers of this type, and their applications and other technical aspects have also been discussed, this is apparently the first book to deal with the physical chemistry of water-soluble synthetic polymers as a group. This collective survey enables their properties and behaviour to be compared, and to be correlated with their molecular structures for predictive purposes. However, this has made it necessary to critically re-appraise much of the earlier fundamental work, so that current discussion of more recent work can be put on ta proper basis. Thus, of the 1800 or so references cited, the middle two-thirds related to the twenty-year period centred on about 1968. Nevertheless, sufficient key recent references have also been included so that the existing 'state of the art is delineated.

Water and energy are inextricably linked as unsound management of either resource can have an impact on the cost, availability, and sustainability of the other. This book explores the "energy for water" component of the water-energy nexus. It offers diverse case studies from around the world including the deserts of Saudi Arabia, rural China, Pakistan's Indus Basin, arid Greek islands, and urban centers such as Los Angeles. The analyses show that while many regions face unique water scarcity challenges, they are all united by the fact that solutions require mobilizing energy. This book focuses on how different policies and technologies are changing the way societies use energy to extract, treat, and transport water. In terms of policy, chapters explore how initiatives aimed at reducing demand for water and improved integrated resource planning can lead to energy savings. Regarding technology, case studies highlight the pros and cons of different methods of meeting water demand. Through exploring both technology and policy across a wide range of diverse case studies, the book offers a robust explanation of the "energy for water" side of the water-energy nexus equation, making it valuable reading for academics and policymakers. This book was originally published as a special issue as International Journal of Water Resources Development.