During the past decade many countries in the world have experienced droughts, with severe impacts on water urban supply systems. Because droughts are natural phenomena, water utilities must design and implement drought management plans. This topic was selected for the International Course on Drought Management Planning in Water Supply Systems, which took place in Valencia, Spain, on 9-12 December 1997, and was hosted by the Universidad Internacional Men ndez y Pelayo (UIMP). The contributions in this book have been carefully selected and presented in four sections: Introduction Water Supply Systems Modernization Drought Management in an Urban Context Practical Cases (Israel, USA, Italy, Spain) To achieve a well-balanced approach, authors were invited from academia as well as from consultancies and water utilities, and have wide experience in the subject. The book is mainly aimed at water supply engineers, working in utilities and consultancies.

Water Engineering and Management - Learning from History explores the pair technology / water use (an indivisible pair, since the first member of the binomial determines the second) which, in the light of the knowledge available in the 21st century and with a conception focused on the near future, goes beyond the limits set by nature itself. The history of water reviewed in the context of this Seminar will help understand the importance water has had in every possible context and civilization in the past, an understanding that will undoubtedly lead to appreciate the true value of the most highly prized among natural resources. For the ultimate goal of the Seminar and the resulting book is "to learn from history," approaching the problem from a pragmatic point of view, far from the political and social interests which, unfortunately, are usually linked to water.

This work will be of particular interest to water managers, politicians, decision makers, and scientists and professionals working in the area of water sciences.

This book contains the lectures given in the International Course "Improving efficiency and reliability in water supply systems," hosted and sponsored by the Menendez Pelayo International University (U.I.M.P.) and co-sponsored by Aguas de Valencia, the British Council and the EC Cornett and Erasmus programmes. The short course took place in Valencia (Spain) in November 1994, with an attendance of more than one hundred delegates. We must not only acknowedge and thank Dr. Joaquin Azagra, as UIMP Director, but also his collaborators D. Luis Moreno and Lidia Lopez for their support in the preparation of the Course and during the course taking place. UIMP sponsorship allowed us to assemble in Valencia an eminent cadre of lecturers coming from all over the world, that covered in an ordered and precise fashion some of the more relevant aspects on efficiency and reliability in water supply systems. We are very thankful to all these leading lecturers for their invaluable cooperation. The publication of this book and the Spanish edition as well, have been made possible thanks to the sponsorship of both Polytechnic University of Valencia througout its Chancellor, Justo Nieto, and Aguas de Valencia throughout its General Director Alvaro Aguirre. We must also thank Kluwer Academic Publishers and especially their Publisher Petra van Steenbergen for her assistance, careful presentation and production of the book.

During the past decade many countries in the world have experienced droughts, with severe impacts on water urban supply systems. Because droughts are natural phenomena, water utilities must design and implement drought management plans. This topic was selected for the International Course on Drought Management Planning in Water Supply Systems, which took place in Valencia, Spain, on 9-12 December 1997, and was hosted by the Universidad Internacional Men ndez y Pelayo (UIMP). The contributions in this book have been carefully selected and presented in four sections: Introduction Water Supply Systems Modernization Drought Management in an Urban Context Practical Cases (Israel, USA, Italy, Spain) To achieve a well-balanced approach, authors were invited from academia as well as from consultancies and water utilities, and have wide experience in the subject. The book is mainly aimed at water supply engineers, working in utilities and consultancies.

This book contains the lectures given in the International Course "Improving efficiency and reliability in water supply systems," hosted and sponsored by the Menendez Pelayo International University (U.I.M.P.) and co-sponsored by Aguas de Valencia, the British Council and the EC Cornett and Erasmus programmes. The short course took place in Valencia (Spain) in November 1994, with an attendance of more than one hundred delegates. We must not only acknowedge and thank Dr. Joaquin Azagra, as UIMP Director, but also his collaborators D. Luis Moreno and Lidia Lopez for their support in the preparation of the Course and during the course taking place. UIMP sponsorship allowed us to assemble in Valencia an eminent cadre of lecturers coming from all over the world, that covered in an ordered and precise fashion some of the more relevant aspects on efficiency and reliability in water supply systems. We are very thankful to all these leading lecturers for their invaluable cooperation. The publication of this book and the Spanish edition as well, have been made possible thanks to the sponsorship of both Polytechnic University of Valencia througout its Chancellor, Justo Nieto, and Aguas de Valencia throughout its General Director Alvaro Aguirre. We must also thank Kluwer Academic Publishers and especially their Publisher Petra van Steenbergen for her assistance, careful presentation and production of the book.

The IWA Performance Indicator System for water services is now recognized as a worldwide reference. Since it first appearance in 2000, the system has been widely quoted, adapted and used in a large number of projects both for internal performance assessment and metric benchmarking. Water professionals have benefited from a coherent and flexible system, with precise and detailed definitions that in many cases have become a standard. The system has proven to be adaptable and it has been used in very different contexts for diverse purposes. The Performance Indicators System can be used in any organization regardless of its size, nature (public, private, etc.) or degree of complexity and development. The third edition of Performance Indicators for Water Supply Services represents a further improvement of the original manual. It contains a reviewed and consolidated version of the indicators, resulting from the real needs of water companies worldwide that were expressed during the extensive field testing of the original system. The indicators now properly cover bulk distribution and the needs of developing countries, and all definitions have been thoroughly revised. The confidence grading scheme has been simplified and the procedure to assess the results- uncertainty has been significantly enhanced. In addition to the updated contents of the original edition, a large part of the manual is now devoted to the practical application of the system. Complete with simplified step-by-step implementation procedures and case studies, the manual provides guidelines on how to adapt the IWA concepts and indicators to specific contexts and objectives. This new edition of Performance Indicators for Water Supply Services is an invaluable reference source for all those concerned with managing the performance of the water supply industry, including those in the water utilities as well as regulators, policy-makers and financial agencies.

Cuentos para Clara, Son tres cuentos, pensados para contar a mi hija Clara, hace ya bastantes anos. Podria llamarles "cuentos humedos*, no tanto por la edad de los ninos a los que van dirigidos, sino porque tratan de charcos, nubes, lluvias y nieblas. El primero de los tres cuentos, el mas largo, tiene como protagonista a una familia de magos, que intentaran mantener la sorpresa y curiosidad en los ninos. El segundo y el tercero, tratan de las relaciones de Clara con las nubes en distintas oportunidades.