Water for Life
Water Management and Environmental Policy

An analysis of the relationship between water management, environmental conditions and public policy.

James L. Wescoat, Jr (Author), Gilbert F. White (Author)

9780521369800, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 16 October 2003

344 pages, 112 b/w illus. 24 tables
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.8 cm, 0.564 kg

'… a significant contribution to the growing library of water and environment management texts.' Geography

Successful water management is crucial for the proper operation of natural environmental systems and for the support of human society. These two aspects are interdependent, but decisions about one are often made without regard to effects upon the other. A persistent challenge is to consider them together. This book fully analyzes the relationship between water management, environmental conditions and public policy. It combines a careful review of the character and evolution of water management and evaluates management from the standpoint of the quality of the natural environment. Topics covered include domestic and industrial water supply and waste disposal, groundwater use, river channel and floodplain management, and integrated river basins. The processes of social decision-making are examined against a backdrop of plant-soil-water-ecosystem relationships and ecosystem change. Examples are drawn from around the world, from local watershed management to international river basin planning, with emphasis on integrative approaches.

List of figures
List of tables
Preface
List of abbreviations
Conversions of selected units of hydrologic measurement
1. Water and life
2. Challenge and opportunity
3. Unfolding recognition of ecosystem change
4. Natural waters
5. Plant-soil-water-ecosystem relationships
6. Groundwater
7. Lakes and wetlands
8. River channels and floodplains
9. Impounded rivers and reservoirs
10. Domestic and industrial water management
11. Decision processes
12. Integrative approaches
Appendix. Guide to internet resources on water and environment
References
Index.

Subject Areas: Environmental science, engineering & technology [TQ], Sustainability [RNU], Applied ecology [RNC], Ecological science, the Biosphere [PSAF]