BOOK REVIEW by www.watermagazine.com

Principles of Water Resources
History, Development, Management & Policy

This is a substantial large format College or High School geography textbook about water resources. Published by John Wiley & Sons it is a recent contribution (copyright 2003) to the resources available to students and teachers in the USA for teaching ideas and information on the topic of water. It has been written and put together by Thomas V. Cech.

In my opinion this textbook succeeds in its overall objective of breaking down complex water resource ideas, into short, understandable and - above all - interesting explanations. The book is organised broadly into the following topic areas:

• HISTORICAL CONTEXT - Questions explored include: how did early civilisations obtain water for personal needs, irrigation, navigation and hydropower? What conflicts existed between these early water users? What techniques were used to construct those early projects?;
• NATURAL PHYSICAL PROCESSES - How do weather and climate patterns affect the distribution of water resources around the world? How do surface and groundwater processes work? what is the interaction between surface water and groundwater?;
• DAMS AND IRRIGATION PROJECTS - What impacts - both positive and negative - do such projects have on the surrounding area? What role do these projects play in environmental degradation?;
• WATER LAWS AND WATER AGENCIES - How has US water law evolved since the early days? What agencies exist at local, state, regional and federal levels? What are their responsibilities and how do they interact? Do neighbours in Canada and Mexico have the same systems?;
• WATER QUALITY - what contaminants affect the health of humans and ecosystems? how is water treated for human consumption, and then after use for discharge back into lakes, rivers and the sea?;
• ENVIRONMENT - what aspects of environment are at risk due to water shortages, poor water quality, or existing water projects? How are endangered species being protected?;
• WATER CONFLICTS - how are water conflicts around the world resolved? how will we solve the need for extra clean water in the 21st century?

As you might expect for a geography text, the book is full of black and white illustrations, tables, maps and graphs. However there a number of other features which set this text apart from others.

For example, the frequent presentation of "A Closer Look" boxes which contain interesting additional information in the form of case studies, poems, extracts from novels, worked examples etc.

"Policy Issue" boxes and other sidebars of interest are liberally and extensively scattered throughout the text also. These provide rich resources for classroom projects and other study.

Also of interest are the regular "Expert Analysis" segments where specific problems are worked through and explained.

What I found of great interest were the "Guest Essays". These have been written by experts and opinion-formers especially for the text book. They address specific issues. The background and perspective of each writer is described.

All chapters come complete with: Chapter Summary text; Questions for Discussion; Key Words to Remember; List of Recommended Readings; and Recommended Websites.

This is a text for geography. It concentrates on the USA's macro water picture. It does not explore micro water issues in urban environments (how water, wastewater and stormwater services are provided locally, reticulation etc) and nor does it examine the economics of water - for example demand management and pricing for example. That aside, I found reading and using this text book an enriching experience. It covers a wide range of water issues, in some historical and technical depth. I found it did not shirk from confronting controversial issues such as the contamination of water with pesticides, and at all times was an easy and delightful read.

Principles of Water Resources is more than 450 pages long. The book is large format in size. It was published in 2003 by John Wiley & Sons. The isbn is 0-471-43861-8 (cloth).
Website information: www.wiley.com
Or order from Wiley (within USA) by phone: (800) 225 5945

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