WATER
Open Access* e-Books
(See also: Infrastructure [incl. Sanitation]; Environment; )
*NOTE: Some titles in these lists are not necessarily Open Access, but all are free (no fee for e-access)
Embedded Files
Biological Wastewater Treatment
: Principles, Modelling and Design
(Editors: G, Chen; M.C.M. van Loosdrecht; and others)
Publisher: IWA Publishing
Year of publication: 2023
The first edition of this book was published in 2008 and it went on to become IWA Publishing's bestseller. Clearly there was a need for it because over the twenty years prior to 2008, the knowledge and understanding of wastewater treatment had advanced extensively and moved away from empirically-based approaches to a fundamental first-principles approach based on chemistry, microbiology, physical and bioprocess engineering, mathematics and modelling. However the quantity, complexity and diversity of these new developments was overwhelming for young water professionals, particularly in developing countries without readily available access to advanced-level tertiary education courses in wastewater treatment. For a whole new generation of young scientists and engineers entering the wastewater treatment profession, this book assembled and integrated the postgraduate course material of a dozen or so professors from research groups around the world who have made significant contributions to the advances in wastewater treatment. This material had matured to the degree that it had been codified into mathematical models for simulation with computers. The first edition of the book offered, that upon completion of an in-depth study of its contents, the modern approach of modelling and simulation in wastewater treatment plant design and operation could be embraced with deeper insight, advanced knowledge and greater confidence, be it activated sludge, biological nitrogen and phosphorus removal, secondary settling tanks, or biofilm systems.
However, the advances and developments in wastewater treatment have accelerated over the past 12 years since publication of the first edition. While all the chapters of the first edition have been updated to accommodate these advances and developments, some, such as granular sludge, membrane bioreactors, sulphur conversion-based bioprocesses and biofilm reactors which were new in 2008, have matured into new industry approaches and are also now included in this second edition.
The target readership of this second edition remains the young water professionals, who will still be active in the field of protecting our precious water resources long after the aging professors who are leading some of these advances have retired. The authors, all still active in the field, are aware that cleaning dirty water has become more complex but that it is even more urgent now than 12 years ago, and offer this second edition to help the young water professionals engage with the scientific and bioprocess engineering principles of wastewater treatment science and technology with deeper insight, advanced knowledge and greater confidence built on stronger competence.
Table of Contents:
Front-matter
1: Wastewater treatment development
2: Basic microbiology and metabolism
3: Wastewater characteristics
4: Organic matter removal
5: Nitrogen removal
6: Enhanced biological phosphorus removal
7: Innovative sulphur-based wastewater treatment
8: Wastewater disinfection
9: Aeration and mixing
10: Bulking sludge
11: Aerobic granular sludge
12: Final settling
13: Membrane bioreactors
14: Modelling activated sludge processes
15: Process control
16: Anaerobic wastewater treatment
17: Modelling biofilms
18: Biofilm reactors
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Cape Town
: Where sweet waters meet the sea
(Series: Hydrological Heritage Overview 3)
Publisher: Water Research Commission of South Africa
Year of publication: 2016
FREE DOWNLOAD: http://wrcwebsite.azurewebsites.net/wp-content/uploads/mdocs/Cape%20Town%20hydro%20history_web.pdf (Or do a search at https://search.wrc.org.za/ )
FREE DOWNLOAD: http://wrcwebsite.azurewebsites.net/wp-content/uploads/mdocs/Cape%20Town%20hydro%20history_web.pdf (Or do a search at https://search.wrc.org.za/ )
From the book's Preface by the CEO:
“Our ancestors called it Camissa or The Place of Sweet Waters. For millennia the area we now know as Cape Town has attracted the weak and weary to its haven of springs and rivulets falling fresh from its greatest landmark, Table Mountain, one of the seven modern wonders of the world.
[...] This book is the third in the Hydrological Heritage Overview series, the first two books featuring Pretoria and Johannesburg. This series aims to address the important power water has over Mankind and how we can harness that to our benefit without compromising the environment.
The selection of Cape Town supplies the opportunity to address the mechanical impacts of water: Table Mountain formed through the action of water, and was shaped into its characteristic landform due to subsequent erosion by water action. Additional emphasis on the power of water relates to aspects of hydropower, the impacts of floods and droughts, and additionally of the power of water as it is harnessed as a vital life supporting resource and as a means of recreation.
It is the hope of the Water Research Commission that the reader will come to realise the beauty and uniqueness of Cape Town’s natural resources and the need to preserve it. " -- WRC CEO, Dhesigen Naidoo
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From the book's Acknowledgements (by author, Matthys A. Dippenaar):
"Although this product supplies a glimpse into a much longer story, it is difficult to mention every aspect of Cape Town’s water heritage. The purpose of this booklet is to become aware of water supply, and therefore a lot of content is omitted or toned down. It does not mean to be a book on history or a handbook on hydrology. The purpose is to acknowledge the role of water in our lives and to collectively become more involved in its protection."
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Groundwater Assessment and Management for sustainable water-supply and coordinated subsurface drainage
: A Guidebook for Water Utilities & Municipal Authorities
(Author: Stephen Foster; Radu Gogu)
Publisher: IWA Publishing
Year of publication: 2022
Groundwater beneath cities is important. Water utilities and private abstractors use is it as a secure source of water-supply and municipal authorities have to cope with it when planning sanitation and using underground space for building and transportation infrastructure, but all too often neither have a comprehensive understanding. This Guidebook aims to highlight what water utilities and municipal government can do to improve groundwater assessment, management and monitoring to avoid experiencing ‘nasty surprises’.
Groundwater, especially from deeper aquifers, is a critical resource for enhancing urban water-supply security under climate-change stress. But to achieve its use sustainably will require adaptive promotion of resource management and protection, according to local circumstances. In recent times municipal governments are making much more use of urban subsurface space (especially down to 15-metres depth) for construction. Traditionally the drainage and stability of such structures were achieved by individual site investigation, but today a more coordinated approach is needed to managing shallow groundwater conditions.
The Guidebook is divided into three complementary parts:
Part A is intended for guidance of water-utility, together with water-resource agency and municipal sanitation department, staff working to improve urban water-supply resilience, with its inevitable requirement to get more involved in groundwater management.
Part B is intended for guidance of municipal government authorities working to improve the design and execution of urban infrastructure to avoid potentially costly subsurface drainage issues, structural instability and groundwater flooding problems.
Part C provides a series of case histories on urban groundwater management from around the world.
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In the footsteps of giants
: Exploring the history of South Africa's large dams
Publisher: Water Research Commission of South Africa
Year of publication: 2012
[From the Author's Note, by Lani van Vuuren:]
This glossy, full colour 340 page publication takes the reader on a journey through the history of South Africa’s largest dams, starting with the traditional attitudes and indigenous knowledge around water resources prior to European settlement and ending with a glimpse into the future of dam building in the country. It explores the reasoning behind the construction of these massive structures, the laws that guided their development, and the people and institutions that made them possible. Woven in between are the tales behind some of the country’s most iconic dams and dam engineers.
South Africa is home to some of the leading dam builders in the world, and many engineering innovations were developed here. While some engineering aspects are included in the book, this has been kept to a minimum so as to keep the publication relevant for a wider audience. Other remarkable publications have been published on the engineering aspects of South African dams, most notably the South African National Committee on Large Dams’ (SANCOLD’s) Large Dams and Water Systems in South Africa, published in 1994, which does much more justice to this aspect of dam history. [...]
While appreciating the role that dams play, we are not denying the mistakes of the past. Most of South Africa’s dams were built in a different milieu, at a time when human rights were often ignored and the importance of a sound aquatic environment was neither comprehended nor appreciated. There are many arguments for and against the construction of dams, and it is not the aim of this publication to either condone or condemn the actions of the past. Rather, the book aims to salute achievements and record mistakes so that we can avoid them in the future. [...]
The construction of large dams might have slowed drastically in South Africa, but the country has not yet reached the end of this era of dam-building. It is the hope of the author that as we move forward any decision to build new dams will be inclusive, transparent and negotiated, with full recognition of the alternatives that exist. In the words of former Water Affairs Minister Kader Asmal: “Water is not for fighting over. Water is for conserving. Water is for bathing. Water is for drinking. Water is for sharing. Water can be our catalyst for peace.”
[From an interview with the author, published in Infrastructure News in June 2012:]
The author of the book, Lani van Vuuren, who is the editor of The Water Wheel magazine, says her research took her on a nationwide tour to meet the people involved in the construction of South Africa’s dams.
“The book actually started as a series of water history articles in The Water Wheel. I first wanted to see how people would react to the articles, and what the demand for such a book would be. My first history article was on the Hartbeespoort Dam, which was originally completed in 1924, and it appeared in the May/ June 2008 edition of the magazine. I have been researching dam-related history for four years,” explains Van Vuuren. On a lighter note she points out that she realised she had been working too long on the book when the staff at the national library began greeting her by her first name every time she walked through the door!
“The book has confirmed to me that, just like other people working in the water sector, engineers are hard-working, passionate people. Every dam project they tackle they do so in the hope that it will make a real difference to people on the ground. Without our extremely sophisticated water resources infrastructure network, this country would not have been able to develop."
[Source: https://infrastructurenews.co.za/2012/06/27/the-history-behind-south-africas-large-dams/ ]
Comments by the CEO:
“The book tells us that we should not rely on one solution. While we have this wonderful legacy of building largescale infrastructure, our future lies in using that same ingenuity and innovation that helped us be a dam-building giant in the world to apply similar kinds of paradigms and know-how in the areas of water conservation and water demand management. ' Footsteps' organises to pitch a series of questions about our water past, our water present and our water future that we would like researchers to examine further." -- WRC CEO, Dhesigen Naidoo
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Integrated Wastewater Management for Health and Valorization
: A Design Manual for Resource Challenged Cities
(Author: Stewart M. Oakley)
Publisher: IWA Publishing
Year of publication: 2022
Adequate wastewater treatment in low to medium income cities worldwide has largely been a failure despite decades of funding. The still dominant end-of-pipe paradigm of treatment for surface water discharge, focusing principally on removal of organic matter, has not addressed the well-published problems of pathogen and nutrient release with continued contamination of surface waters.
This book incorporates the new paradigm of integrated wastewater management for valorization without surface water discharge using waste stabilization pond systems and wastewater reservoirs. In this paradigm the purpose of treatment is to protect health by reducing pathogens to produce an effluent that is valorized for its fertilizer and water value for agriculture and aquaculture. Methane production as a sustainable energy source is also considered for those applications where it is appropriate. Emphasis is on sustainable engineering solutions for low to medium income cities worldwide.
Chapters present the theory of design, followed by design procedures, example design problems, and case study examples with data, diagrams and photos of operating systems. Excel spreadsheets and the FAO program CLIMWAT/CROPWAT are included in examples throughout. Sections on engineering practice include technical training, operation and maintenance requirements, construction and sustainability. The book incorporates design and operating data and case studies from Africa, Australia, Latin America, Europe, New Zealand, and the US, including studies that have been published in French, Portuguese, and Spanish.
The book is designed for upper-division and graduate level engineering students, practicing engineers, regulatory professionals who help establish and enforce effluent standards, international development professionals, and policy stakeholders.
Table of Contents:
Front-matter
Preface
Ch. 1: Integrated wastewater management for reuse in agriculture
Ch. 2: Selection of natural systems for wastewater treatment with reuse in agriculture
Ch. 3: Wastewater flows, design flowrate, and flow measurement
Ch. 4: Preliminary treatment
Ch. 5: Theory and design of facultative ponds
Ch. 6: Theory and design of maturation ponds
Ch. 7: Wastewater reuse in agriculture: guidelines for pathogen reduction and physicochemical water quality
Ch. 8: Design of wastewater irrigation systems with valorization of nutrients
Ch. 9: Physical design and aspects of construction
Ch. 10: Operation and maintenance
References
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Johannesburg
: Gold in the Rand, Water from the Land
(Series: Hydrological Heritage Overview 2)
Publisher: Water Research Commission of South Africa
Year of publication: 2015
[Extracts from a review by Lani van Vuuren, published in Water Wheel in Nov. 2015:]
This 64-page publication is the second in the Hydrological Heritage Overview series (the first book in the series – published in 2013, featured the role of Pretoria’s Fountains in the founding and development of South Africa’s capital city).
[...] Author Dr Matthys Dippenaar from the University of Pretoria, provides motivation behind this project: “Given the very positive reaction to the outcomes of the Pretoria project, it was decided to expand the series to other major South African cities. Johannesburg was selected as the next city to be featured in the series, along with Cape Town.”
The project was initially focused on groundwater, which played a significant role in the early days of Johannesburg’s development, however, it was soon realised that, as a major city not located near a water resource, the city had a richer water history to be explored.
In the last few years, Johannesburg has experienced much negatively publicity surrounding its water challenges such as the impact of mine-water. “With this publication we wanted to illustrate that Johannesburg is not an environmentally unfriendly city focused solely on mining, industry and commercial activity, but a city with highly-skilled scientists and engineers who have done an excellent job in supplying the city’s residents with high-quality drinking water,” notes Dr Dippenaar.
The publication provides a broad overview of Johannesburg’s water resource development and management, interwoven by colourful illustrations and photographs. “Rather than addressing every little detail, the Johannesburg project was used to emphasise water imports to a city on a watershed, as well as the impacts of urban development on water quality,” notes Dr Dippenaar.
[...] The most important theme addressed in the book is related to sustainability, with the compromise between environment and economy being determined by the need for improving society. Society therefore needs to become involved in order to better balance environment and economy for the future protection of water.”
[...] An important message emanating from the publication – and the Hydrological Heritage Overview Series in general – is that there is a fine line between water as a basic human right and water as a seemingly abundant resource to be used excessively as a luxury, says Dr Dippenaar. “I hope the message will spread that water is not free, and that water supply is, in fact, a costly exercise. People should see water reticulated to their taps as proof that South Africa’s skills in science and engineering are world class, and that our tap water is generally supplied at exceptional qualities.”
[Source: https://journals.co.za/doi/10.10520/EJC179548 ]
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From the book's Preface by the CEO:
“The aim of this publication is to increase understanding and appreciation for the sustained effort required to keep South Africa’s economic powerhouse running.
It is the hope of the Water Research Commission that this publication will serve as more than a glimpse into the water management challenges of South Africa’s largest city, but that it will be a useful tool to garner awareness of the important role that each citizen has to play in ensuring a water secure future for Johannesburg." -- WRC CEO, Dhesigen Naidoo
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Pretoria's Fountains
: Arteries of Life
(Series: Hydrological Heritage Overview 1)
Publisher: Water Research Commission of South Africa
Year of publication: 2013
FREE DOWNLOAD: http://wrcwebsite.azurewebsites.net/wp-content/uploads/mdocs/Pretoria%20Fountains.pdf (Or do a search at https://search.wrc.org.za/ )
FREE DOWNLOAD: http://wrcwebsite.azurewebsites.net/wp-content/uploads/mdocs/Pretoria%20Fountains.pdf (Or do a search at https://search.wrc.org.za/ )
From the book's Preface by the CEO:
“This book on the capital city’s hydrogeological resources forms the first in a planned series published by the Water Research Commission under the Hydrogeological Heritage Overview mantle, aimed at illustrating the role groundwater plays in meeting not only rural water but also urban demands. With groundwater usually being a hidden resource, Pretoria’s springs offer a rare visual glimpse of this important water resource in South Africa. It is hoped that, through this publication, the residents of Pretoria will come to appreciate this resource which has faithfully supplied the city centre with quality drinking water for over 150 years.
An unusually strong and consistent source, Pretoria’s fountains are a clear example of groundwater’s ability towards consistent supply of quality fresh water. [...]
The author and contributors are congratulated for bringing this colourful book to fruition. I sincerely hope that this publication will inform people about the important place of groundwater in the lives of South Africa’s people." -- WRC CEO, Dhesigen Naidoo
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[From Chapter 1, by the book's author, Matthys A. Dippenaar:]
Despite the majority of the terrestrial freshwater resources in the world being groundwater with surface water coming in at much smaller volumes over the globe), there still exists a public perception that the only source of potable water is from surface water bodies. Due to this misconception, the general public often forgets the importance of groundwater as a resource. This is evident in the lack of knowledge regarding the Upper and Lower Fountains in Pretoria being the main reason for various historical events in and around Pretoria, leading to it eventually becoming the capital of South Africa. This project, which introduces a broader Hydrological Heritage Overview programme, is intended to create awareness regarding the history and importance of water in the development of South Africa, and to improve public understanding of the important role that hydrology and hydrogeology is playing in our day-to-day lives.
The main objectives of the project is to:
Create awareness of the importance of water and, notably, groundwater, in the history of Pretoria;
Document Pretoria’s water-related history throughout the past with the emphasis on the groundwater supply; and
Supply interested parties with information regarding the occurrence of groundwater in Pretoria.
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The Role of sound Groundwater Resources Management and Governance to achieve Water Security
(Global Water Security Issues series, 3)
Publisher: Unesco
Year of publication: 2021
SHORT SUMMARY:
Groundwater, invisible to visible:
The true value of groundwater is hidden beneath the ground. Often, general public and policy-makers are not fully aware of the importance of this precious resource, even though groundwater provides nearly 50% of all drinking water. While the pressure on groundwater has been steadily increasing, this invisible resource continues to receive less attention than it deserves..
This Global Water Security Issues (GWSI) Series 3, The role of sound groundwater resources management and governance to achive water security, explores various case studies of tools and analyses of management, groundwater quality issues, transboundary aquifer management, and stakeholder engagement. The GWSI shines a spotlight on groundwater resources to highlight the importance of integrated water resource management and strengthened capacity for robust management decisions.
The increasing depletion and contamination of groundwater resources are putting water security at risk.
Water security is achieved when groundwater governance ensures an interaction across all social groups.
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Rural Community Water Supply
: Sustainable services for all
Publisher: Practical Action Publishing
Year of publication: 2021
FREE DOWNLOAD:
FREE DOWNLOAD:
The first Water Decade aimed to serve everyone with safe drinking water by 1990. More than three decades later, the task is far from finished; it is now abundantly clear that it will take more time — in some countries much more time — than the 15 years of the Sustainable Development Goals. Despite the United Nations declaration that no-one would be left behind, without step-changes in commitment, know-how, and resources, many rural households will still be struggling for their daily water supply in 2030 and beyond.
In this book, Richard Carter weaves together the myriad of factors that need to come together to make rural water supply truly available to everyone. Sustainable water supply for all requires sound stewardship of water resources, good quality physical infrastructure, and management and financing arrangements that are equally fit-for-purpose. In many countries, systemic change is needed. Ultimately, radical changes to the global web of injustice that divides this world into rich and poor may be the only way to address the underlying problems.
Table of Contents:
Boxes, figures, and tables
Acronyms
Acknowledgements
Preface
About the author
Who this book is for
My intention in this book
Covid-19
Black lives matter
1. Sustainable rural water services for all
2. Water quantity, quality, and health
3. Groundwater resources
4. Water supply boreholes
5. Water lifting from wells and boreholes: handpumps
6. Water supply infrastructure: beyond handpumps
7. From getting it going to keeping it flowing: management
of rural water services
8. Finance: the fuel for sustainable rural water services
9. Rural water users and community water supply programmes
10. Water for all: why is it such a struggle, and what can be done?
11. What’s changing in rural water supply?
12. Imagine another world
Endnote: National WASH systems sit within a global system of injustice
Annex: Some notes on definitions and statistics
References
Index
Reviews:
‘Richard Carter has written a most valuable and detailed account of rural water supply which covers a wide range of subjects and contains a huge list of valuable references. It should find its way and be read by a large number of people who are studying, working or linked to this important discipline.’ -- Peter Morgan, Consultant and Stockholm Water Prize Winner
‘This book is simply excellent – for those starting out, for those wanting to know more, and for those who have been in the sector for years. I appreciate it for its pragmatism, for being comprehensive, providing incredible detail as well as history, and looking into the future. To quote the author “There is still a long way to go to achieve basic, on premises and safely managed services”. I believe that this book will become a classic, a resource and reference for those striving to improve rural community water supplies - for everyone, everywhere.’ -- Dr Kerstin Danert, Ask for Water GmbH, Switzerland
This book is a significant resource for anyone working in the rural water sector in the run up to the SDG target date of 2030. It is truly impressive in scope and helps to debunk some of the myths around rural water provision, as well as reclaiming approaches that some see as being written off too easily in the past. The historic perspective of the book reflects Richard’s long involvement in - and passion for - improving water services for rural people around the world and serves to remind us that some lessons are timeless. Finally, the author’s human spirit shines through as he consistently puts people and power dynamics at the heart of proposed solutions, as much as engineering and money. -- Harold Lockwood, Director, Aguaconsult UK
‘Richard Carter has created an impressive resource for all those committed to improving the lives of rural dwellers. He's brought together an extraordinary amount of information, brought it up to date, and presented it in a well-organized, actionable form. Everything is clearly explained, and new evidence is integrated with well-established science. The emphasis on practical steps to achieve progressive improvement of rural water supply systems is valuable for both the practitioner and the policy maker.’ -- Clarissa Brocklehurst, Gillings School of Global Public Health; Water Institute at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; former WASH Chief, UNICEF New York
‘This book is a “must read” for those interested in Rural water supply. It is not only a much needed update on technologies since “The handpump option” (Worldbank 1987) but also gives a wealth of experiences in non-technical aspects to make rural water supply sustainable. Improving access in rural areas is not only about reaching SDG6.1 but it also contributes to water related SDG’s concerning income, food and employment.’ -- Henk Holtslag, WASH specialist
‘An authoritative and multidisciplinary review of the historical performance and future prospects to address the enduring global challenge of delivering drinking water to rural people.’ -- Professor Rob Hope, University of Oxford
‘This book is a mine and a wealth of resources for professionals, students and adherents of rural water supply. Against a historical context, Prof Carter outlines the practical steps needed to improve rural water supply for rural people in low and middle income countries. In the words of Nelson Mandela “a nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens but its lowest ones”. Prof Carter expounds this by bringing out the latest, proven and best practices available in rural water supply from the perspective of the poorest communities in rural areas.’ -- Javan Nkhosi, water engineer, consultant, and author, Zambia
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Self-Supply
: Filling the gaps in public water supply provision
Publisher: Practical Action Publishing
Year of publication: 2021
FREE DOWNLOAD:
FREE DOWNLOAD:
While governments and development partners focus on improving community and utility-managed water supplies to ensure access for all, hundreds of millions of people are taking actions to supply their own water. In the WASH sector household investment in construction and improvement of facilities is widely employed in sanitation but in water similar efforts are ignored. Recognition of the contribution of self-supply towards universal access to water and its full potential, is hampered by a lack of data, analysis and guidance.
This well-reasoned source book highlights the magnitude of the contribution of self-supply to urban and rural water provision world-wide, and the gains that are possible when governments recognise and support household-led supply development and up-grading. With limited public finances in low- (and many middle-) income countries, self-supply can fill gaps in public provision, especially amongst low-density rural populations. The book focuses on sub-Saharan Africa as the region with the greatest predicted shortfall in achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal for water.
Household supplies can be created, or accelerated to basic or safely managed levels, through approaches that build on the investment and actions of families, with the availability of technology options and cost-effective support from the private and public sectors. The role of self-supply needs greater recognition and a change in mindset of governments, development partners and practitioners if water services are to be extended to all and no-one is to be left behind.
Sally Sutton has worked in rural water supply and sanitation in the Middle East and Africa for four decades. Her experiences of the parallel efforts of governments/ development partners and of households to improve water supplies were the motivation for this book.
John Butterworth is the lead of the Global Hub at IRC, a think tank focused on improving water, sanitation and hygiene services.
Case study examples are contributed by leading practitioners and observers in sub-Saharan Africa and beyond.
Table of Contents:
Part 1
1. Why public water supply can’t fill all the gaps
2. Introducing self-supply
3. The scale of rural self-supply
4. The scale of urban and peri-urban self-supply
5. Ownership and investment in self-supply in sub-Saharan Africa
6. Early stage self-supply technologies
7. Self-supply and well water quality
8. Community and self-financed supplies: complementary services in sustainability
9. Supporting self-supply acceleration
10. Conclusions and recommendations
Part 2: Self-supply case studies
1. The role of self-supply in Scotland
2. Self-supply in the Danube region
3. The shining example of domestic rainwater harvesting in Thailand
4. The National Upgraded Well Programme, Zimbabwe
5. Introducing alternative and affordable technologies for rural water supply in Tanzania
6. The pitfalls and positives of introducing support to self-supply in Zambia
Reviews:
‘There are probably very few countries in which public water supply can reach every citizen, every household or every community. In many cases this is because of remote locations, but it is also the case in lower-income countries that limited government budgets render the progressive realisation of safe and sustainable services for all painfully slow. As a consequence, individuals, households and communities take their own initiatives – and invest their own resources – to gain access to water, and to improve the standard of that access. Such self-supply initiatives have been known about for many decades, especially as a result of the work of Dr Sally Sutton, the main author of this book. Now Sally and Dr John Butterworth have put pen to paper in this comprehensive account of the extent and nature of self-supply. The authors demonstrate the potential to incorporate self-supply into national strategies which recognise the need for multiple solutions to the challenges of water supply and its financing and management. Self-supply is an important component of both rural and urban water services, and this book is the resource for understanding its place. I strongly commend the book to all who are working in or interested in the water sectors of nations.’
-- Richard Carter, WASH specialist
'It is a pleasure to endorse this skilfully written and well researched book on self-supply for our most precious of resources – water. The writing of such a book is long overdue and records what may be little known or appreciated to many. That simple, yet practical means of gaining water for domestic use, as a largely private enterprise, is quite widely used in many parts of the developing world. And not so long ago in our human history, was used in countries which now call themselves developed. It is immensely practical, and where rain water or ground water permit, and where governments are not able, for one reason or another, to provide the water that people so desperately need, then the concept of self-supply must step in to fill the breach. The authors provide evidence, from several parts of the world, where self-supply of water has proven to be totally invaluable and often vital for people’s survival.'
-- Peter Morgan - researcher and consultant; author of ‘Rural Water and Sanitation Supplies’; Stockholm Water Prize winner
'Self-supply is a critical, and under-examined component of access to basic water services globally. If we are to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals for universal access to safe drinking water, strengthening best practices and support for self-supply is imperative. These expert-authors have produced a well-researched and thoughtful guide to help communities, practitioners, service providers, researchers, governments and donors learn about, and contribute to, community capacity for drinking water self-supply.'
-- Evan Thomas, University of Colorado Boulder
'In Ethiopia, like many other sub-Saharan countries, self-supply is a simple investment by families against poverty and millions of people depend on it in rural areas. This is the first book that discusses how to support and improve their efforts. It is a valuable resource for building capacities of sector professionals and we must now use it!’
-- Tamene Hailu (PhD), Director General of Ethiopian Water Technology Institute
'Self-supply has long been overlooked because it is largely unmapped, unmonitored and unregulated, and therefore invisible to policy-makers and decision-takers. This wonderful new book shows what they are missing by providing an accessible but comprehensive overview of self-supply in its many forms and contexts, from the lowest income countries to the highest. It puts people at the centre of the challenge to achieve universal water access and is a celebration of ingenuity and resilience – and highlights that household investment and remittances can play a vital role in plugging the investment gap in rural water infrastructure. This book is destined to become a classic reference that all rural water supply professionals should become familiar with.'
-- Sean Furey, Director, Rural Water Supply Network (RWSN)
'One of the great challenges of the next decade is how to get safe and sustainable water to the hundreds of millions who currently lack it. Whether as temporary stopgap or long term ‘service model’, self-supply has the potential to reach those people and places that public utilities can’t. This timely and useful book, at once rallying cry, history and how-to manual provides a wealth of useful detail for anyone interested in promoting self-supply as part of delivering safe water for all, forever.'
-- Dr Patrick Moriarty, IRC Chief Executive Officer
‘A comprehensive overview of a neglected topic; this is a must-read for anyone serious about ensuring access to water especially in the most remote rural areas of the world. Sally Sutton aided by John Butterworth draws on her extensive experience to leave no stone unturned in explaining why and how self-supply remains a key strategy in pursuit of the SDG target for safely managed drinking water services.’
-- Pete Harvey, UNICEF
'What contribution can self-supply make towards realisation of water access for all people? This book provides thoughtful insights into a much overlooked water supply service delivery model that holds many answers to the problem of poor water access. It makes a powerful case for decision makers to get behind supporting and enabling self-supply. If this doesn’t happen there is a question about whether water access targets will ever be fully met.'
-- Vincent Casey, Senior WASH Manager, WaterAid
‘Self-supply is a crucial first step towards safe drinking water services but is too often overlooked. This book calls on policy makers to recognise and support the extraordinary efforts of millions of rural households to develop their own solutions.'
-- Tom Slaymaker, Co-Lead WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene
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Water, Energy, and Environment
: a Primer
(Author: Allan R. Hoffman)
Publisher: IWA Publishing
Year of publication: 2019
Access to clean water and energy are critical to economic growth and sustainable development. Providing water and energy services has important environmental impacts. Understanding the inextricable linkages among water, energy, and environment – the water-energy-environment nexus – will be a priority for all levels of government in the decades ahead as they develop and implement policies to enhance human welfare.
We are also experiencing the beginning of an energy revolution in these early years of the 21st Century. Understanding the nature of this revolution is important, and this book provides an introduction to and explanation of this revolution. Specific topics discussed, in addition to explaining the nexus, include:
the global contexts for water and energy issues;
associated environmental impacts;
traditional and emerging energy options (fossil fuels, nuclear power, renewable energies);
new approaches to providing clean water;
the emerging role of energy storage;
policy issues associated with water, energy, and environment;
recommendations for moving forward.
There are a number of books on pieces of the nexus, most at a technical level. The purpose of this book is to explain the nexus and each of its components in a university-level, highly-readable ‘primer’ for those entering the water and energy fields. It will also serve as an introduction to these topics for a global, multidisciplinary audience that includes academic scholars in related technical and non-technical fields, government officials at national, state, and local levels, economists and others in the financial/investment communities, and those in the development community responsible for planning and delivering water and energy services to underserved populations.
Table of Contents:
Preface
Ch. 1: Water and its global context
Ch. 2: Energy and its global context
Ch. 3: Exploring the linkage between water and energy
Ch. 4: Energy production and its consequences for water and the environment
Ch. 5: Energy options
Ch. 6: Fossil fuels
Ch. 7: Nuclear power
Ch. 8: Renewable energy
Ch. 9: Energy storage
Ch. 10: Policy considerations
References
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Water Interactions: a Systemic View
: Why we Need to Comprehend the Water-Climate-Energy-Food-Economics-Lifestyle Connections
(Author: Gustaf Olsson)
Publisher: IWA Publishing
Year of publication: 2022
During the last two decades, the interrelationship between water and energy has become recognized. Likewise, the couplings to food and agriculture are getting increasingly obvious and alarming. In the last year, a record number of extreme weather events have been reported from most parts of the world. This is a visible demonstration how consequences of climate change must be understood and alleviated. The impacts of economics, lifestyle, and alarming inequalities are becoming increasingly recognisable. If the wealthy part of the world is not willing not make radical changes it does not matter what the less wealthy half of the global population will do to meet the climate and resource crisis.
The purpose of the book is to demonstrate and describe how climate change, water, energy, food, and lifestyle are closely depending on each other. It is not sufficient to handle one discipline isolated from the others. This is the traditional “component view”. The book defines and describes a systems view. The communications and relationships between the “components” have to be described and recognized. Consequently, the development of one discipline must be approached from a systems perspective. At the same time, the success of the systems perspective depends on the degree of knowledge of the individual parts or disciplines. The catchphrase of systems thinking has been caught in the phrase, “The whole is more than the sum of its parts”. The idea is not new: the origin of this phrase is to be found already in Aristotle's Metaphysics more than 2300 years ago.
The text may serve as an academic text (in engineering, economics, and environmental science) to introduce senior undergraduate and graduate students into systems thinking. Too often education encourages a “silo” thinking. Current global challenges can't be solved in isolation; they depend on each other. For example, water professionals should have a basic understanding of energy issues. Energy professionals ought to understand the dependency on water. Economic students should learn more how economy depends on natural resources like energy and water. Economics must include the environmental impact and ecological ceiling of economic activities.
Table of Contents:
Front-matter
Ch. 1: Introduction – setting the scene
Ch. 2: Systems thinking
Ch. 3: Climate today
Ch. 4: Global warming impacts
Ch. 5: The water perspective
Ch. 6: The energy perspective
Ch. 7: The food perspective
Ch. 8: Economics
Ch. 9: Lifestyle
Ch. 10: Crisis or hope
A1: Units
A2: Glossary
A3: Abbreviations
Notes
References
Index
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Water Security and Cities
: Integrated urban water management
(Global Water Security Issues series, 4)
Publisher: Unesco
Year of publication: 2023
SHORT SUMMARY:
Water for cities:
With more than 50% of the global population already living in urban areas, cities increasingly face challenges in providing more water for growing urban populations.To meet these challenges, a holistic approach under the Integrated Urban Water Management (IUWM) framework is essential.
"Integrated Urban Water Management is an approach to managing the entire urban water cycle in an integrated way—a key to achieving the sustainability of resources and services.It incorporates: the systematic consideration of the various dimensions of water, including surface and groundwater resources, quality and quantity issues; the fact that water is a system and component which interacts with other systems; and the interrelationships between water and social and economic development."
(The definition of “Integrated Urban Water Management” in the UNESCO Urban Water Series, 2007-2012).
The Global Water Security Issues (GWSI) Series Issue No. 4 focuses on Water Security and Cities: Integrated Urban Water Management, and outlines various IUWM options and applications to highlight the importance of integrated approaches to urban water management to make cities sustainable and resilient. This issue presents a selection of practical cases of the implementation of Integrated Urban Water Management approaches to managing water in cities.
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Water Societies and Technologies from the Past and Present
(Editors: Mark Altaweel & Yijie Zhuang)
Publisher: UCL Press
Year of publication: 2018
Today our societies face great challenges with water, in terms of both quantity and quality, but many of these challenges have already existed in the past. Focusing on Asia, Water Societies and Technologies from the Past and Present seeks to highlight the issues that emerge or re-emerge across different societies and periods, and asks what they can tell us about water sustainability. Incorporating cutting-edge research and pioneering field surveys on past and present water management practices, the interdisciplinary contributors together identify how societies managed water resource challenges and utilized water in ways that allowed them to evolve, persist, or drastically alter their environment.
The case studies, from different periods, ancient and modern, and from different regions, including the Indus Basin, the Yangtze River, the Mesopotamian floodplain, the early Islamic city of Sultan Kala in Turkmenistan, and ancient Korea, offer crucial empirical data to readers interested in comparing the dynamics of water management practices across time and space, and to those who wish to understand water-related issues through conceptual and quantitative models of water use. The case studies also challenge classical theories on water management and social evolution, examine and establish the deep historical roots and ecological foundations of water sustainability issues, and contribute new grounds for innovations in sustainable urban planning and ecological resilience.
Table of Contents:
1. Introduction: Interdisciplinary research into water management and societies
--Yijie Zhuang and Mark Altaweel
Part I: Modelling long-term change
2. Holocene evolution of rivers, climate and human societies in the Indus basin
--Peter D. Clift and Liviu Giosan
3. Habitat hysteresis in ancient Egypt
--Judith Bunbury
4. Geoarchaeology of prehistoric moated sites and water management in the Middle River Yangtze, China
--Duowen Mo and Yijie Zhuang
5. Rice fields, water management and agricultural development in the prehistoric Lake Taihu region and the Ningshao Plain
--Yijie Zhuang
Part II: Technologies across time and space
6. Recognition criteria for canals and rivers in the Mesopotamian floodplain
--Jaafar Jotheri
7. The Udhruh region: A green desert in the hinterland of ancient Petra
--Mark Driessen and Fawzi Abudanah
8. Flowing into the city: Approaches to water management in the early Islamic city of Sultan Kala, Turkmenistan
--Tim Williams
9. Water management across time: Dealing with too much or too little water in ancient Mesopotamia
--Mark Altaweel
10. Framing urban water sustainability: Analysing infrastructure controversies in London
--Sarah Bell
Part III: Water and societies
11. Early Indian Buddhism, water and rice: Collective responses to socio-ecological stress: Relevance for global environmental discourse and Anthropocene studies
--Julia Shaw
12. Water for the state or water for the people? Wittfogel in South and South East Asia in the first millennium
--Janice Stargardt
13. Agricultural development, irrigation management and social resilience in ancient Korea
--Heejin Lee
14. Quoting Gandhi, or how to study ancient irrigation when the future depended on what one did today
--Maurits W. Ertsen
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Water Stewardship
(Author: Pernille Ingildsen)
Publisher: IWA Publishing
Year of publication: 2020
Achieving true wholesome sustainability requires a change of heart. Hence this book starts in the heart. It asks the timely question of “how do we become true water stewards?” The transformation to a new sustainable practice will be made through a new connection with our heart, a more holistic type of analysis (brains) and the right actions based on personal integrity (hand).
A water steward should be similar to the shepherds of olden days. They were given the responsibility to guard the sheep. The village trusted they would take care of the herd, make sure it would be well fed, protected from storms and kept together. The shepherd learned to take a long term perspective for the herd, ensuring that the pastures were not overgrazed, that the herd was not led too far away from access to water and that shelter was in reach in the event of storms and dangerous predators. Over time the shepherds became increasingly skilled in caring for the herd. They integrated the responsibility of the well-being of the herd into their identity.
In a similar way, we can take the responsibility for human water consumption and our interaction with the natural world. We need to understand and work according to the big picture and the very long term perspective. Being a water steward requires deep reflection of how water should be treated and our relationship with water. Water utility professionals have the knowledge and have been trusted with the role of managing human water consumption. This is a great responsibility and requires deep reflection of how this should be done. The book will present ideas and concepts for the new role as well as questions for personal reflection.
Table of Contents:
Preface – A Guide to the Reader
Prologue
Ch. 1: Aspiring to a new story
Ch. 2: Practical experiments
Ch. 3: A model for maturation
Ch. 4: Potential frameworks
Ch. 5: Searching differently
Ch. 6: Blind spots
Ch. 7: Utopian vision
Ch. 8: About the act of visioning
Ch. 9: Facing the wicked problem
Ch. 10: I am a water steward
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