According to the United Nations, 77 million people are expected to face water shortage by 2025, if people continue to use water at the current rate. More water than available would be needed to grow the world's food during the next decade. As a result of scarcity of water, global annual food production losses could reach 350 million tons by 2025. Divided into six main sections, this volume outlines strategies to conserve soil and water resources to help ensure both water and food security: - Challenges to ensure water and agricultural sustainability - Sustainable strategies for managing water and soil resources and groundwater recharge technologies - Soil-quality issues - Water-quality issues, with special reference to groundwater pollution with arsenic - Management in different agroclimatic environments, with particular reference to rainfed agriculture - Biotechnological applications for drought-tolerant crop varieties with improved water use efficiency, water conservation strategies, and sustainable agronomic alternatives. This guide on agricultural sustainability is intended for scientists and advanced students in agronomy, soil science, agricultural engineering, agricultural economics, plant breeding, plant genetics, plant biotechnology, water resources, hydrology, geography, and other agriculture-related fields.

Arsenic, manganese and iron in drinking water at concentrations exceeding recommended guideline values pose health risks and aesthetic defects. Batch and pilot experiments on manganese adsorption equilibrium and kinetics using iron-oxide coated sand (IOCS), Aquamandix and other media have been investigated and modeled. Effect of manganese and iron loading on manganese removal and rate of oxidation of adsorbed iron and manganese have been studied.

Aquamandix and IOCS demonstrated iron and manganese adsorption capacity that increases with increasing pH under oxic and anoxic conditions. Manganese loading and low filtration rate using feedwater with no nitrite favour non-uniform development of catalytic manganese oxide on media that subsequently enhances manganese removal.

Day-to-day water management is challenged by meteorological extremes, causing floods and droughts. Often operational water managers are informed too late about these upcoming events to be able to respond and mitigate their effects, such as by taking flood control measures or even requiring evacuation of local inhabitants. Therefore, the use of weather forecast information with hydrological models can be invaluable for the operational water manager to expand the forecast horizon and to have time to take appropriate action. This is called Anticipatory Water Management. Anticipatory actions may have adverse effects, such as when flood control actions turn out to have been unnecessary, because the actual rainfall was less than predicted. Therefore the uncertainty of the forecasts and the associated risks of applying Anticipatory Water Management have to be assessed. To facilitate this assessment, meteorological institutes are providing ensemble predictions to estimate the dynamic uncertainty of weather forecasts. This dissertation presents ways of improving the end-use of ensemble predictions in Anticipatory Water Management.

Synthetic Polymeric Membranes for Advanced Water Treatment, Gas Separation, and Energy Sustainability is a cutting-edge guide that focuses on advanced water treatment applications, covering oily wastewater treatment, desalination, removal of dyes and pigments, photodegradation of organic hazardous materials, heavy metal removal, removal and recovery of nutrients, and volatile organic compounds. Other sections examine the area of gas separation, including acidic gas removal, oxygen enrichment, gas and vapor separation, hydrogen separation, and gas sensing. Final sections cover applications for sustainable energy usage, including the use of synthetic polymer membranes in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), and more. This is a highly valuable guide for researchers, scientists, and advanced students, working with polymer membranes and films, and across polymer science, polymer chemistry, materials science, chemical e

This unique book shares the knowledge and experience of experts and scientists who apply high-quality findings and input from their research to issues concerning the management of water resources and their quality in Baltic countries including Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Germany and Russia. It summarizes the latest results of several systematic investigations, and assesses the occurrence and quality of surface and underground waters within the Baltic countries to help decision-makers plan for sustainable development. The book addresses a range of water resources management issues, especially those that are relevant to the water quality in these Baltic countries. It presents cutting-edge information and findings that can be effectively used to solve a variety of problems in integrated water resources management. Accordingly, it will be of interest to graduate students, researchers, water scientists, professionals, experts and practitioners working in water resources management.

A collection of articles by leading international experts on modeling and control of potable water distribution and sewerage collection systems, focusing on advances in sensors, instrumentation and communications technologies; assessment of sensor reliability, accuracy and fitness; data management including SCADA and GIS; systems modelling, optimisation and decision support; real time monitoring, modelling control and associated uncertainties; water quality, water and wastewater treatment modeling; demand forecasting, leakage and energy management; asset management and performance modeling; sustainable urban water management including flooding issues; security, reliability and resilience of water systems; likely impacts of climate change; Water scarcity and intermittent supply. Intended for water researchers in industry and academia.

The Integrated Urban Water Management (IUWM) is an emerging approach to managing the entire urban water cycle in an integrated way, which is key to achieving the sustainability of urban water resources and services. The IUWM incorporates: the systematic consideration of the various dimensions of water, including surface and groundwater resources, quality and quantity issues; the implication that while water is a system it is also a component which interacts with other systems; and the interrelationships between water and social and economic development. Integrated Urban Water Management: Arid and Semi-Arid Regions - the outcome of UNESCO's International Hydrological Programme project on the topic - examines the integrated management of water resources in urban settings, focusing on issues specific to arid and semi-arid regions and on what make them different from other regions. The urban water management system is considered herein as two integrated major entities; water supply management and water excess management. The first six chapters provide an overview of the various aspects of IUWM in arid and semi-arid regions, with emphasis on water supply technologies, such as artificial recharge, water transfers, desalination, and harvesting of rainfall. Water excess management is examined in the context of both the stormwater management system and the floodplain management system. Case studies from developed and developing countries are presented in order to emphasize the various needs and challenges of water management in urban environments in arid and semi-arid regions around the world.

Understanding the impacts of urbanization on the urban water cycle and managing the associated health risks demand adequate strategies and measures. Health risks associated with urban water systems and services include the microbiological and chemical contamination of urban waters and outbreak of water-borne diseases, mainly due to poor water and sanitation in urban areas, and the discharge as well as the disposal of inadequately treated, or untreated, industrial and domestic wastewater. Climate change only exacerbates these problems, as alternative scenarios need to be taken into consideration in urban water risk management.

Urban Water Security: Managing Risks the result of a project by UNESCO 's International Hydrological Programme on the topic addresses issues associated with urban water risks. The first section of the volume describes risks associated with urban water systems and services. The volume then discusses the concept of risk management for urban water systems and explores different approaches to managing and controlling urban water risks. A concluding section presents case studies on managing urban water risks.

Urban Water Series - UNESCO-IHP, ISSN 1749-0790

Following from the Sixth Phase of UNESCO 's International Hydrological Programme (2002 2007), the Urban Water Series UNESCO-IHP addresses fundamental issues related to the role of water in cities and the effects of urbanization on the hydrological cycle and water resources. Focusing on the development of integrated approaches to sustainable urban water management, the Series should inform the work of urban water management practitioners, policy-makers and educators throughout the world.

Series Editors

Cedo Maksimovic, Imperial College, London, United Kingdom

J. Alberto Tejada-Guibert, International Hydrological Programme, UNESCO, Paris, France

Water Resources in the Mediterranean Region summarizes and collates scientific developments around water resources in the Mediterranean socio-economic environment through a multidisciplinary framework synthesizing hydrology, hydrogeology, climate, bioclimatology, economics, and geography. As such, it provides essential information for any reader looking to learn more about the Mediterranean which is experiencing the impact of climate change and concurrent complex issues of anthropogenic effects, especially in agriculture and other resource uses. Water Resources in the Mediterranean Region covers different challenges in the issue of the evolution of water resources in the Mediterranean. It is intended for PhD students, research scientists, and managers interested in new solutions and approaches for water management and in the forecast of future water dynamics.

Salinity affects 10 to 16% of all irrigated lands while the annual rate of land loss due to waterlogging and salinity is about 0.5 million hectares per year. In this dissertation, the role of subsurface drainage to reduce these problems in irrigated agriculture in arid and semi-arid regions has been analysed and challenges for improving subsurface drainage practices have been formulated.

Although the installed subsurface drainage systems are in general technically sound and cost-effective, drainage development lags behind irrigation development and consequently a substantial part of the irrigated areas suffers from waterlogging and salinity. This is mainly because the subsurface drainage systems are designed and implemented by government, with the users, the small farmers, having little responsibility and having little input. In the adopted top-down approach the location-specific conditions and farmers? preferences are hardly taken into consideration. Furthermore, the emphasis has been on the technical aspects (the physical infrastructure), while the organizational aspects (institutional infrastructure) have been largely neglected.

To reverse the negative trend in salt build-up and waterlogging in irrigated lands in semi-arid and arid regions, a number of challenges for enhancing the role of subsurface drainage have been formulated: (i) balancing top-down against bottom-up, (ii) from standardization to flexibility and (iii) focus on capacity development.

'This book bridges disciplines, previously confined to specialist journal publications, by providing a comprehensive overview of the systems analysis application to water resources. It is ideal for Masters-level courses in Water Resources Engineering where modern management techniques of optimization and modelling are highly important in the strategic management of a vital resource.' - Derek Clarke, University of Southampton, UK 'The great novelty of this book is that it presents in detail how fuzzy-set theory can be used in water resource system management. The author was one of the pioneers who opened up this new field and is considered to be one of the greatest experts in it.' - Rodolfo Soncini Sessa, Politecnico di Milano, Italy Water resources management is increasingly interdisciplinary and must take into account complex socioeconomic factors and environmental variables. This book describes the 'systems approach' and its application to contemporary water resources management, focusing on three main sets of tools: simulation, optimization and multi-objective analysis. This approach is presented within the context of sustainable planning and development under conditions of uncertainty. Managing Water Resources: Methods and Tools for a Systems Approach introduces system dynamic simulation as a tool for integrated modelling and contains coverage of the use of fuzzy sets for incorporating objective and subjective uncertainties. The book combines theory with many practical examples, as well as including programs and exercises on downloadable resources. It comprises both an advanced text for students of water resources and civil or environmental engineering and a practical guide for professionals. Published jointly with UNESCO and International Hydrological Programme

This book presents a historically situated explanation of the rise of global water governance and the contemporary challenges that global water governance seeks to address. It is particularly concerned with connecting what are often technical issues in water management with the social and political structures that affect how technical and scientific advice affects decisions. Schmidt and Matthews are careful to avoid the pitfalls of setting up opposing binaries, such as 'nature versus culture' or 'private versus public', thereby allowing readers to understand how contests over water governance have been shaped over time and why they will continue to be so. Co-written by an academic and a practitioner, Global Challenges in Water Governance combines the dual concerns for both analytical clarity and practical applicability in a way that is particularly valuable both for educators, researchers, decision-makers, and newcomers to the complexities of water use decisions.

Scientists have long been searching for a unified field theory-one answer to all of the questions about the physical universe. In this book, Rhett Larson takes a similar approach to social policy questions. What if we could find a unified social policy theory-the answer to every question from how to prevent war to how to promote gender equality? Most of our most serious global challenges are complex, multi-faceted "wicked problems." But perhaps the first step in solving wicked problems as seemingly distinct as racism and disease epidemics is the same: reform our laws, policies, and priorities to achieve global water security. Global water security means reasonable access for all people to water of acceptable quantity and quality with acceptable costs and risks. Just as the essential element to all life is water, so water is the essential element to solving life's challenges. Virtually every major social challenge-including gender inequality, racial discrimination, terrorism, space exploration, global disease epidemics, mass migrations, and climate change-has a significant and underappreciated water component. Each chapter of this book takes up one of these wicked problems, illustrates the role water plays in that problem, and proposes reforms to address the water aspect of that problem, with the aim of achieving global water security. The goal of this this book is to convince the reader that the answer, or at least one part of the answer, to our most serious problems is the oft-repeated catchphrase: "Just add water."

Learn about the world s freshwater shortage with this Spanish nonfiction book. Ideal for young readers, this book explains Earth s water crisis and includes a fiction story related to the topic, glossary, connected project, useful text features, and engaging sidebars. This 28-page full-color Spanish book explores the difficulties of protecting fresh water and how individuals can help. It also covers essential concepts such as problem-solving and leadership, and includes an extension activity for grade 2. Perfect for the classroom, at-home learning, or homeschool, to explore global citizenship, conserving water, and climate change.

This edited volume presents a comprehensive and comparative view of the law of international watercourses with special reference to the issues facing the Ganges River basin. It provides an analysis of the development of international waterways law and outlines the essentials of the UN Convention on non-navigational uses of international watercourses. Focusing on relations between the three riparian states of the River Ganges and the potential for cooperation, the volume also examines the domestic legal regimes of the area and the political dimension to the issues of sharing the waters of the river. The work presents a comparative picture with an analysis of developments in the Rhine and Mekong basins, comparing developments in the legal regimes of these areas with the experience of South Asia. Presenting an up-to-date analysis of the current law and pointing the direction for future developments, this collection will be a valuable resource for academics, researchers and policy makers working in this area.

Published in 1991, the first edition of "The Practical Handbook of Ground-Water Monitoring" quickly became the gold standard reference on the topic of ground-water monitoring. But, as in all rapidly evolving fields, regulations change, technology advances, methods improve, and research reveals flaws in prior thinking. As a consequence, books that document the state of the science, even widely acknowledged definitive works, become outdated and need to be rewritten periodically to stay current. Reflecting this and renamed to highlight its wider scope, The Practical Handbook of Environmental Site Characterization and Ground-Water Monitoring, Second Edition provides an updated look at the field. Completely revised, the book contains so much new information that it has doubled in size.

Containing the most up-to-date information available, this second edition emphasizes the practical application of current technology. It covers environmental site characterization and ground-water monitoring in great detail, from the federal regulations that govern environmental investigations, to the various direct and indirect methods of investigating and monitoring the subsurface, to the analysis and interpretation of complex sets of environmental data.

Cheaper, better, faster was the mantra of the 1990s, resulting in more streamlined approaches to both environmental site characterization and ground-water monitoring, but also pitting the application of good science against the mandate to get a project done as quickly and inexpensively as possible. This book provides unbiased, technical discussions of the tremendously powerful tools developed in the last decade, helping environmental professionalsstrike a balance between good science and economics.

One of the main problems confronting the world of the 21st Century is a shortage of water. There is already severe scarcity in many regions of the world, causing tremendous problems for local populations and indeed entire societies. There is insufficient water available for the production of food to alleviate poverty and starvation; the lack of water hampers industrial, urban and tourism development, forcing restrictions on other sectors, especially agriculture; health problems arise as the deterioration of ground and surface waters favours water-borne diseases, which flourish in the absence of decent water distribution and sewerage systems. Water conflicts still arise in areas under stress, while water for nature has become a vanishing priority in such zones.

This book is a guide to the establishment of regional and/or local guidelines for developing and implementing new ideas for coping with water scarcity. The basic premise underlying the book is that water scarcity will persist, so personal, human and society-wide skills will be needed to cope with it while living in harmony with the necessary environmental constraints. The book provides basic information to assist decision makers, water managers, engineers, agronomists, social scientists and other professions (and their students) in formulating coherent, hopefully harmonious and consolidated views on the issue. Guidelines are also given for introducing the general public to the concept of water scarcity and how to deal with it.

Professionals involved in the planning, design, operation, and construction of water, wastewater, and stormwater systems need to understand the productivity-enhancing applications of GIS. Inspired by an ASCE-sponsored continuing education course taught by the author, GIS Applications for Water, Wastewater, and Stormwater Systems focuses on the practical aspects of software and data tools that enable GIS applications. The book documents and analyzes effective use of GIS, demonstrating how you can apply the technology to make tasks easier to perform, saving time and money for your organization.

The book first describes GIS, detailing its importance and explaining how to avoid potential pitfalls via a needs analysis study. It then describes GIS-related technologies that are crucial in applications development: remote sensing; DEM data; GPS; Internet applications; and mobile GIS. The final ten chapters focus on the "Four Ms" of the water industry-Mapping, Monitoring, Modeling, and Maintenance-applications that define the most important activities for efficient management of water, wastewater, and stormwater systems.

Promoting a performance- (or outcome-) based style of learning, each chapter first states learning objectives and later concludes with a chapter summary and questions. The text encourages more effective and natural inductive study by first presenting case studies, then explaining procedures. This volume supplements the text with numerous maps, tables, and illustrations.

Affordable and effective domestic wastewater treatment is a critical issue in public health and disease prevention around the world, particularly so in developing countries which often lack the financial and technical resources necessary for proper treatment facilities. This practical guide provides state-of-the-art coverage of methods for domestic wastewater treatment and provides a foundation to the practical design of wastewater treatment and re-use systems. The emphasis is on low-cost, low-energy, low-maintenance, high-performance 'natural' systems that contribute to environmental sustainability by producing effluents that can be safely and profitably used in agriculture for crop irrigation and/or in aquaculture, for fish and aquatic vegetable pond fertilization. Modern design methodologies, with worked design examples, are described for waste stabilization ponds, wastewater storage and treatment reservoirs; constructed wetlands, upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactors, biofilters, aerated lagoons and oxidation ditches. This book is essential reading for engineers, academics and upper-level and graduate students in engineering, wastewater management and public health, and others interested in sustainable and cost-effective technologies for reducing wastewater-related diseases and environmental damage.

"Small-scale Water Supply" provides non-specialists with an overview of the technologies available for water supply in low-income communities in rural areas of developing countries. Focusing chiefly on "point supplies" such as wells, boreholes, springs and rainwater catchment systems, the book also introduces the reader to powered pumps, water treatment and piped distribution systems. Chapters cover design capacity, sources of water, raising water, storage and water treatment. The book contains useful illustrations of each of the technologies and outline guidance on making appropriate choices between technologies. The subject of water supply is vast and this handy book shows the reader where to begin in designing water supply systems. Extensive appendices point the reader to sources of further information for each technology, both in printed form and from Internet web pages.Published in collaboration with WELL (Water and Environmental Health at London and Loughborough).

This volume offers a review of oil inputs to the Mediterranean Sea from sources such as shipping, and offshore exploration and exploitation activities. It discusses international measures to prepare for, respond to, and prevent oil pollution incidents, as well as the international legal framework and agencies with a role in pollution prevention and responses. It includes chapters on modeling the fate of oil pollution, oil spill response, and oil spill beaching probability, and presents data from a range of sources, including historic data on shipping accidents and oil exploration and exploitation activities, satellite and remote sensing data, and numerical modelling data, to provide an overview of oil pollution over several years. Topics covered include modelling of oil slicks in the eastern and western Mediterranean basins, oil exploration and exploitation activities in the waters of the Levantine Basin (Eastern Mediterranean), and signatures to and ratification of the Barcelona Convention and its Protocols, for example. Together with the companion volume Oil Pollution in the Mediterranean Sea: Part II - National Case Studies, it addresses both national and international measures in the region, making it of relevance to the agencies and government bodies tasked with remediating or preventing oil pollution, as well as policymakers and practitioners in the fields of shipping, ports and terminals, oil extraction and marine management. It provides researchers with essential reference material on tools and techniques for monitoring oil pollution, and serves as a valuable resource for undergraduate and postgraduate students in the field of marine oil pollution.

The book assembles the latest research on new design techniques in water supplies using desalinated seawater. The authors examine the diverse issues related to the intakes and outfalls of these facilities. They clarify how and why these key components of the facilities impact the cost of operation and subsequently the cost of water supplied to the consumers. The book consists of contributed articles from a number of experts in the field who presented their findings at the "Desalination Intakes and Outfalls" workshop held at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia in October, 2013. The book integrates coverage relevant to a wide variety of researchers and professionals in the general fields of environmental engineering and sustainable development.

There is no more fundamental resource than water. The basis of all life, water is fast becoming a key issue in today s world, as well as a source of conflict. This fascinating book, which sets out many of the ingenious methods by which ancient societies gathered, transported and stored water, is a timely publication as overextraction and profligacy threaten the existence of aquifers and watercourses that have supplied our needs for millennia.

It provides an overview of the water technologies developed by a number of ancient civilizations, from those of Mesopotamia and the Indus valley to later societies such as the Mycenaeans, Minoans, Persians, and the ancient Egyptians. Of course, no book on ancient water technologies would be complete without discussing the engineering feats of the Romans and Greeks, yet as well as covering these key civilizations, it also examines how ancient American societies from the Hohokams to the Mayans and Incas husbanded their water supplies. This unusually wide-ranging text could offer today s parched world some solutions to the impending crisis in our water supply.

"This book provides valuable insights into the water technologies developed in ancient civilizations which are the underpinning of modern achievements in water engineering and management practices. It is the best proof that "the past is the key for the future."
Andreas N. Angelakis, Hellenic Water Supply and Sewerage Systems Association, Greece

"This book makes a fundamental contribution to what will become the most important challenge of our civilization facing the global crisis: the problem of water. Ancient Water Technologies provides a complete panorama of how ancient societies confronted themselves with the management of water. The role of this volume is to provide, for the first time on this issue, an extensive historical and scientific reconstruction and an indication of how traditional knowledge may be employed to ensure a sustainable future for all."
Pietro Laureano, UNESCO expert for ecosystems at risk, Director of IPOGEA-Institute of Traditional Knowledge, Italy"