The Mekong Region has come to represent many of the important water governance challenges faced more broadly by the mainland Southeast Asian region. This book focuses on the complex nature of water rights and social justice in the Mekong region. The chapters delve into the diverse social, political and cultural dynamics that shape the various realities and scales of water governance in the region, in an effort to bring to the forefront some of the local nuances required in the formulation of a larger vision of justice in water governance. It is hoped that this contextualized analysis will deepen our understanding of the potential of, and constraints, on water rights in the region, particularly in relation to the need to realize social justice. The authors show how vitally important it is that water governance is democratized to allow a more equitable sharing of water resources and counteract the pressures of economic growth that may pose risks to social welfare and environmental sustainability.

Advanced Tools and Models to Improve River Basin Management in Europe in the Context of Climate Change - AquaTerra has developed from an integrated project of the 6th EU RTD Framework Programme that aims to provide the scientific basis for an improved river basin management through a better understanding of the river-sediment-soil-groundwater system as a whole, by integrating both natural and socio-economics aspects at different temporal and spatial scales. This book aims: * to provide better understanding of the river-sediment-soil-groundwater system at various temporal and spatial scales * to relate expected climate alterations to changes in deposition, mobility and distribution of pollutants in European river basins. * to provide the scientific basis for improved river basin management * to introduce novel tools for water and soil quality monitoring * to show the necessity of integrated modelling frameworks for impact evaluation of pollution as well as climate and land-use changes for definition of long-term management schemes The work illustrates the dynamic behavior of the pathway of pollutants in soils, groundwater, surface water and sediments. It highlights the fundamental importance of integrating knowledge from sereral combineddisciplines on various environmental compartments in order to understand the large number of processes that govern pollutant input, transport and turnover. Results shows that a significant step forward has been made in the development new analytical methods and of process-based numerical models that are capable of making predictions of likely trends and environmental changes to be expected in the near or distant future at the basin-scale. These models can be used e.g. to generate hydrologic scenarios based on climate models and to simulate pollutant distribution and turnover rates from decades to millennia.

Calcium and magnesium are abundant in groundwater, but the role of groundwater as the essential source of these important nutrients is very often neglected. Hydrogeochemical studies have focused mainly on the distribution and behaviour of constituents that cause deterioration of water quality, such as: nitrate, nitrite or iron and manganese. Therefore, most recent books and papers concentrate mainly on these constituents and only a small number of papers describe the results of groundwater studies on other important water components such as calcium or magnesium. Calcium and magnesium are of great importance to human wellbeing and inadequate intake of either nutrient can impair health. The main objective of this book is to present a selection of studies on calcium and magnesium in groundwater and to highlight their importance for human health. The chapters in this book are written by hydrogeologists and hydrochemists as well as medical doctors and include: methods of investigation of calcium and magnesium in groundwaters, distribution and behaviour of calcium and magnesium in different aquifers, calcium and magnesium in bottled mineral and spring waters, and the significance of calcium and magnesium in waters for human health.

The revitalizing and restoration of rivers, creeks and streams is a major focus of urban conservation activity throughout North America and Europe. This book presents models and examples for organizing multiple stakeholders for purposes of waterway revitalization-if not restoration-within a context of fairness and environmental justice. After decades of neglect and misuse the challenge of cleaning up urban rivers and streams is shown to be complex and truly daunting. Urban river cleanup typically involves multiple agendas and stakeholders, as well as complicated technical issues. It is also often the situation that the most affected have the least voice in what happens. The authors present social process models for maximum inclusion of various stakeholders in decision-making for urban waterway regeneration. A range of examples is presented, drawn principally from North America and Europe.

The Great Lakes Basin in North America holds more than 20 percent of the world's fresh water. Threats to habitats and biodiversity have economic, political, national security, and cultural implications and ramifications that cross the US-Canadian border. This multidisciplinary book presents the latest research to demonstrate the interconnected nature of the challenges facing the Basin. Chapters by U.S. and Canadian scholars and practitioners represent a wide range of natural science and social science fields, including environmental sciences, geography, political science, natural resources, mass communications, environmental history and communication, public health, and economics. The book covers threats from invasive species, industrial development, climate change, agricultural and chemical runoff, species extinction, habitat restoration, environmental disease, indigenous conservation efforts, citizen engagement, environmental regulation, and pollution.Overall the book provides political, cultural, economic, scientific, and social contexts for recognizing and addressing the environmental challenges faced by the Great Lakes Basin.

As they provide a negotiating space for a diversity of interests, Multi-Stakeholder Platforms (MSPs) are an increasingly popular mode of involving civil society in resource management decisions. This book focuses on water management to take a positive, if critical, look at this phenomenon. Illustrated by a wide geographical range of case studies from both developed and developing worlds, it recognizes that MSPs will neither automatically break down divides nor bring actors to the table on an equal footing, and argues that MSPs may in some cases do more harm than good. The volume then examines how MSPs can make a difference and how they might successfully co-opt the public, private and civil-society sectors. The book highlights the particular difficulties of MSPs when dealing with integrated water management programmes, explaining how MSPs are most successful at a less complex and more local level. It finally questions whether MSPs are - or can be - sustainable, and puts forward suggestions for improving their durability.

This Report synthesizes the main results obtained throughout the ADVISOR research project ("Integrated Evaluation for Sustainable River Basin Governance") funded by the European Commission, under the - 'Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development' theme of the 5th Framework Research Programme. The aim of ADVISOR was to improve the understanding of evaluation processes as part of river basin planning and management and to provide a framework supported by a toolkit for the conduct of integrated and participatory evaluations. The project comprised four work-packages. Work Package 1 examined past water project or plan evaluation cases in five EU states and drew insights on the problems of past evaluation practices. Work Package 2 interpreted these past experiences from different analytical angles leading to a theory for an integrated evaluation process, emphasising issues of deliberation, multiple values, quality in the use of information and governance. Work Package 3 moved from theory to practice. Different tools which could contribute to integrated evaluation processes were tested in experimental case applications. These included scenario workshops, mediated modelling supported by a quality assurance protocol, social multi-criteria evaluation, cost-effectiveness analyses and monetary valuation. Work Package 4 aimed at transferring the experience and lessons learned during the ADVISOR project to policy makers, contributing especially to the implementation process of the Water Framework Directive. A guidance document for designing and implementing Integrated Deliberative Decision Processes (IDDP) was developed, detailing a step-by-step procedure to achieve integrated evaluations. The synthesis of the main results achieved throughout the ADVISOR project is presented in this report in three parts: Part A sets the stage for the role of integrated evaluations in river basin planning and management; Part B unfolds the set of relevant principles and tools developed in the project and Part C concludes with futures challenges for integrated evaluation processes.

Irrigation is the dominant consumer of fresh water world-wide, accounting for as much as 80% of use in many water-short countries. Two issues dominate the problems in water resources management generally, and especially the management of irrigation systems: shortage of water to meet competing demands, and schortage of funds to finance operation, maintenance and renewal of existing facilities. Various international conferences, donor policies and academic papers have pointed to the contribution that appropriate irrigation service charging systems can make to both problems. This book is unique in that it connects policy objectives in water pricing with the practicalities of a setting up an irrigation water charging system. It discusses the different types of water charging systems as well as the basis for quantifying and calculating the charges in the real world. Based on practical experiences in a range of countries, it also looks at possibilities for cost rationalizations and developing a broad range of revenue streams.The book concludes with a systematic explanation on how to design an irrigation water charging system - looking at assessment, billing and improving collection performance. The book is uniqu in that it does not cover the theory of cost recovery but the practicalities of it.

Watershed management is an integrated approach that evaluates system-wide implications of natural resource problems. It has received considerable attention among communities and resource managers as an appropriate approach to deal with complex problems. Problem-solving is an important aspect of watersheds that involves diagnosis, assessment, solution, and implementation issues that often need processing of enormous amount of information. A typical problem requires compilation of information from a variety of sources and is time consuming. This book will use a problem-based approach to present information on each problem facing watersheds. The subject area derives from a variety of disciplines and experiences and presented in clear and systematically throughout the book for easy reading and understanding. The problems that are covered in the book are major ones facing watersheds through the globe. The first chapter introduces principles of watershed management and is followed by chapters that are problem specific. Each problem is dealt systematically from introduction, analysis, strategies, and further references. Watershed Management provides a valuable reference to professions, students, scientists, and common citizens who are interested in learning about the variety of problems and approach in watershed management.

Integrated water resource management has been discussed since at least the Civil War; yet, there is still no integrated framework for sustainably managing water. Recognizing this need, the Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) funded a research project to develop an integrated, conceptual framework for sustainable water resources management. Through WERF funding, this framework was developed over the past four years. Development of the framework was guided by the U.N. Agenda 21, Global Water Partnership, the Enlibra Principles, and Panarchy Theory. The conceptual framework for Sustainable Water Resources Management considers water as a renewable, but finite resource with global and regional constraints. It integrates ecological, economic, and social considerations through institutional and legal/regulatory constructs to move toward sustainable water resources. Implementation of the framework is guided by a process flow chart that considers both crisis management and proactive management activities. Sustainability is as much an outcome as a goal. If water resources are viewed within a total systems context and monitored, assessed and adaptively managed through time, sustainable water resources are the outcome.

Relive all the thrills and adventure of Alan Moorehead's classic bestseller The White Nile -- the daring exploration of the Nile River in the second half of the nineteenth century, which was at that time the most mysterious and impenetrable region on earth. Capturing in breathtaking prose the larger-than-life personalities of such notable figures as Stanley, Livingstone, Burton and many others, The White Nile remains a seminal work in tales of discovery and escapade, filled with incredible historical detail and compelling stories of heroism and drama.

This book represents the outcome of the Second IWA Leading-Edge Conference held in Sydney, Australia in November 2004. Sustainability is a paradoxical concept. We know we want to protect the environment from human-induced change, yet ecosystems are dynamic, constantly changing and adapting in response to a multitude of factors, the combined effect and subtleties of which are probably well beyond human calculation. Furthermore, our conscious desire to protect the environment - which forces us to think of humans as sitting outside ecosystems - conflicts with the unavoidable fact that we are an unconscious actor within those ecosystems. We must also recognise that the goal of 'protecting the environment' is not a clear-cut objective. Perhaps, because of its complexity and propensity to change, we cannot know what the fully protected environment would look like. Individual preferences too make the conceptualisation of an ideal state impossible; do we strive for an ecosystem in which we play a minor part - barely influencing natural outcomes - or one that is more actively managed and provides for our needs or wants? Neither this volume, nor the conference from which it draws, resolve the paradoxes described above. The papers presented here do, however, provide insight into the innovative thinking and practical projects undertaken across the globe that move us from patently unsustainable conditions to those in which our economic activity, impact on ecosystems and desire for positive social outcomes are in better balance.

Pollutant Effects in Freshwater provides a practical and concise introduction to the ecological consequences of water pollution in aquatic ecosystems. In tackling the problem of water quality deterioration, this book combines the limnological and water pollution literature to describe how pollutants in wastewater affect populations of organisms in freshwater environments. Substantially revised, updated and expanded, with additional specialist contributors, this retitled new edition of Ecological Effects of Wastewater will continue to focus on the effects and management of eutrophication, water quality standards to protect aquatic life, and widen the debate over micro organisms and their public health significance in the aquatic environment. With ever tighter controls on pollution levels of freshwater bodies being implemented and enforced world wide, this book is essential reading for students of public health and environmental engineering, and a reference tool for professionals in consultancies, contractors and for those in regulatory and enforcement bodies.

Water is a precious natural resource, which is crucial to our survival. It needs to be used judiciously in the context of an increasing population not only to sustain essential requirements such as those for drinking and domestic usage, but also for increased food production, industrial usage, power generation, navigational requirements, pisciculture, recreation, landscaping etc. There are many books dealing with hydrology, hydraulics and hydraulic structures, which generally deal with larger problems of development, analysis, design and implementation of water resources. However, there are few books, which deal with small-scale development of water resources consistent with the environmental concerns as well as application of relevant eco-friendly technologies. This book provides both the perspectives.

Modern hydrology is more interdisciplinary than ever. Staggering amounts and varieties of information pour in from GIS and remote sensing systems every day, and this information must be collected, interpreted, and shared efficiently. Hydroinformatics: Data Integrative Approaches in Computation, Analysis, and Modeling introduces the tools, approaches, and system considerations necessary to take full advantage of the abundant hydrological data available today. Linking hydrological science with computer engineering, networking, and database science, this book lays a pedagogical foundation in the concepts underlying developments in hydroinformatics. It begins with an introduction to data representation through Unified Modeling Language (UML), followed by digital libraries, metadata, the basics of data models, and Modelshed, a new hydrological data model. Building on this platform, the book discusses integrating and managing diverse data in large datasets, data communication issues such as XML and Grid computing, the basic principles of data processing and analysis including feature extraction and spatial registration, and modern methods of soft computing such as neural networks and genetic algorithms. Today, hydrological data are increasingly rich, complex, and multidimensional. Providing a thorough compendium of techniques and methodologies, Hydroinformatics: Data Integrative Approaches in Computation, Analysis, and Modeling is the first reference to supply the tools necessary to confront these challenges successfully.

Containing over 7,500 entries, covering all genres of rock, from classic rock, to heavy metal; punk, rap, disco, British Invasion and much more, this second edition of a well-received book has been revised and updated to produce an invaluable index. Rock Song Index, 2nd edition indexes the classic songs of the rock canon, from the late 1940s through to the end of the twentieth century. The study of the history of rock music has exploded over the last decade; all college music departments offer a basic rock-history course, covering the classic artists and their songs. Arranged A to Z by song, the index includes composer, performer, record label, release date, annotation about the song's significance and now has new indexes for artist, songwriter, producer, and year. Any student, professional, scholar or general reader will find this an invaluable reference book in the field of rock music.

One approach to the introduction of computational material to the classroom is to supplement a textbook with modern computer codes. Unfortunately most codes are expensive, designed for commercial use, without source code and may require special software. Visual Hydrology provides a cheaper and simpler alternative, supplying computational exercises that can be fully assimilated by students, and allowing them to activate, understand and reproduce modern computer code. Visual Hydrology aims to: explain the structure of modern object-oriented computer code provide the source code for worked examples numerically check the worked examples used in text show how worked examples can be used with alternative data describe and reference the underlying theory provide additional exercises with each worked example use Microsoft Excel software alone Requiring only a basic knowledge of Microsoft Excel, this Primer teaches the use of modern and readily-available computer code for engineering computation. Visual Hydrology demonstrates codes for common and practical examples used in hydrological engineering, and will be a valuable resource to students, research workers and consulting engineers in the water-related sector. Examples of source code to accompany this publication can be downloaded by clicking here.

Thermal enrichment of coldwater streams by heated stormwater in summer months is often overlooked and even exacerbated by traditional management practices that typically account for flow moderation and pollutant removal only. Initiated in 1999, this study evaluated and identified innovative and traditional approaches to moderate this temperature impact by monitoring and analyzing the hydrologic and thermal regimes of an urban stormwater treatment system consisting of two traditional wet detention ponds and an enhanced natural wetland. Data analysis clearly shows temperature increases in the open detention ponds and the ability of the wetland to mitigate this thermal enrichment. Event-based thermal loading and temperature regime analysis indicated flow reduction via infiltration and effective vegetative cover in the wetland were the primary mechanisms for mitigating stormwater thermal enrichment. Using the concept of temperature equivalent, we also established the locations and strength of thermal enrichment areas. A heat transfer model was developed to simulate runoff temperature. Results indicated that rainfall characteristics, temperature difference between rainfall and the ground surface, and the runoff flow depth were the most important factors affecting runoff temperature.

In 2017 four rivers in Aotearoa New Zealand, India, and Colombia were given the status of legal persons, and there was a recent attempt to extend these rights to the Colorado River in the USA. Understanding the implications of creating legal rights for rivers is an urgent challenge for both water resource management and environmental law. Giving rivers legal rights means the law can see rivers as legal persons, thus creating new legal rights which can then be enforced. When rivers are legally people, does that encourage collaboration and partnership between humans and rivers, or establish rivers as another competitor for scarce resources? To assess what it means to give rivers legal rights and legal personality, this book examines the form and function of environmental water managers (EWMs). These organisations have legal personality, and have been active in water resource management for over two decades. EWMs operate by acquiring water rights from irrigators in rivers where there is insufficient water to maintain ecological health. EWMs can compete with farmers for access to water, but they can also strengthen collaboration between traditionally divergent users of the aquatic environment, such as environmentalists, recreational fishers, hunters, farmers, and hydropower. This book explores how EWMs use the opportunities created by giving nature legal rights, such as the ability to participate in markets, enter contracts, hold property, and enforce those rights in court. However, examination of the EWMs unearths a crucial and unexpected paradox: giving legal rights to nature may increase its legal power, but in doing so it can weaken community support for protecting the environment in the first place. The book develops a new conceptual framework to identify the multiple constructions of the environment in law, and how these constructions can interact to generate these unexpected outcomes. It explores EWMs in the USA and Australia as examples, and assesses the implications of creating legal rights for rivers for water governance. Lessons from the EWMs, as well as early lessons from the new 'river persons,' show how to use the law to improve river protection and how to begin to mitigate the problems of the paradox.

A concise textbook emphasizing sedimentary processes and flow in alluvial channels, this title provides comprehensive treatment of flow-bed transport interaction. It emphasizes water flows (basic principles and characterization), fluvial sediment, processes of erosion and sediment transport, bedforms that result from flow-bed sediment interactions in sand and gravel, flow and sedimentary processes in curved, braided and confluent channels, as well as aquatic habits.;The text provides a comprehensive synthesis of current knowledge about physical processes in alluvial channels, with an emphasis on the recent work on flow-bed sediment transport interactions. It is designed for students with an interest in fluvial studies as a part of physical geography, earth sciences, environmental sciences and ecology courses.

The Lake and Pond Management Guidebook is the successor to the bestselling Lake Smarts: The First Lake Maintenance Handbook, the "bible" for small-scale lake and pond improvements, published by the Terrene Institute in 1993. Completely revised and updated, now published by Lewis Publishers, this guidebook contains over 300 ideas and projects including step-by-step practical, low-cost solutions to a wide range of problems that lake management professionals face everyday. Coverage includes shoreland buffer installation, fisheries management, reducing nuisance algal growth, controlling exotic aquatic plants, lakeside wastewater treatment systems, small scale dredging, and more.

This is the fifth and last volume representing the proceedings of the International Conference on Water Resources Management in Arid Regions held March 23rd-27th 2002 in Kuwait. This book discusses major aspects of hydrology and water resources. It presents papers on important aspects of surface water and groundwater hydrology, including drought tendencies, regional flood frequency analysis, urban storm drainage with curb-opening inlets, isotopic investigations for lakes, hydrologic and sediment transport modeling, groundwater exploration using remote sensing and GIS, origin and recharge rates of alluvial ground waters, stormwater and groundwater management, and considerations for stochastic finite element in geostatistics and modeling. Papers on water quality supplement the discussion.

This book demonstrates the role of dominant ecological factors on the organisms of running water and the functioning of the ecosystem, as well as the consequences of human activity. It provides vision of certain rivers and streams that represent various types of European watercourses.

Deterministic Methods in Systems Hydrology presents the basic theory underlying the multitude of parameter-rich models which dominate the hydrological literature. Its objectives are to introduce the elements of systems science as applied to hydrological problems; to present flood prediction and flood routing as problems in linear systems theory, clarifying the basic assumptions and evaluating their accuracy; and to review and to evaluate some deterministic models of components of the hydrological cycle, with a view to assembling the most appropriate model of catchment response, for a particular problem in applied hydrology. The material is developed in two parts: the first four chapters present the systems viewpoint, the nature of hydrological systems, some systems mathematics and their application to direct storm runoff. The final four chapters cover linear conceptual models of direct runoff, the fitting of conceptual models to data, simple models of subsurface flow and non-linear deterministic models.

Modeling hydrologic changes and predicting their impact on watersheds is a dominant concern for hydrologists and other water resource professionals, civil and environmental engineers, and urban and regional planners. As such changes continue, it becomes more essential to have the most up-to-date tools with which to perform the proper analyses and modeling of the complex ecology, morphology, and physical processes that occur within watersheds. An application-oriented text, Modeling Hydrologic Change: Statistical Methods provides a step-by-step presentation of modeling procedures to help you properly analyze and model real-world data.

The text addresses modeling systems where change has affected data that will be used to calibrate and test models of the system. The use of actual hydrologic data will help you learn how to handle the vagaries of real-world hydrologic-change data. All four elements of the modeling process are discussed: conceptualization, formulation, calibration, and verification. Although the book is oriented towards the statistical aspects of modeling, a strong background in statistics is not required. The statistical and modeling methods discussed here will be of value to all disciplines involved in modeling change. With approximately 100 illustrations, Modeling Hydrologic Change will equip you with an understanding with which to perform the proper analyses and modeling of the complex processes that occur across various disciplines.