Book Description Review Quotes Contents Resources
Book Description

In this concise introduction to water resources, Shimon Anisfeld explores the fundamental interactions between humans and water, including drinking, sanitation, irrigation, and power production. The book familiarizes students with the current water crisis and with approaches for managing this essential resource more effectively in a time of rapid environmental and social change. Anisfeld addresses both human and ecological problems, including scarcity, pollution, disease, flooding, conflicts over water, and degradation of aquatic ecosystems. In addition to providing the background necessary to understand each of these problems, the book discusses ways to move towards better management and addresses the key current debates in the water policy field.
 
In the past, water development has often proceeded in a single-sector fashion, with each group of users implementing its own plans without coordination with other groups, resulting in both conflict and inefficiency. Now, Anisfeld writes, the challenge of water management is figuring out how to balance all the different demands for water, from sanitation to energy generation to ecosystem protection.
 
For inquiring students of any level, Water Resources provides a comprehensive one-volume guide to a complex but vital field of study.

Review Quotes

"At long last, a fresh and comprehensive treatment of the relevant water issues of our day. Shimon Anisfeld writes with a clarity informed both by the scholarly setting of academia and by wet boots in the marsh. This is certain to become the new standard text for anyone interested in water."
Brian Richter, Co-Director, Global Freshwater Program, The Nature Conservancy

"This book is powerful because of its broad and deep utility for a diverse range of readers concerned with the sustainability of natural systems. It is an accessible and comprehensive presentation of the science of water resources, and the many challenges of managing the pressing water crisis now being faced in every part of the world. It will be illuminating, authoritative, and useful to many people in many ways."
Zygmunt Jan Broël Plater, Professor of Law, Boston College

"Water is a vital resource that is continuously threatened by structural and nonstructural human actions. Thus, a book that combines relevant science and policy issues is a welcome reference for anyone interested in water in any type, shape, or form. In this brief but comprehensive work, Anisfeld (Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies) tries to explain the global water crisis and offer possible solutions."
Choice

"Floods and droughts frequently garner headlines. But they are simply part of the multi-faceted water crisis facing the world today. A new book with a simple title explains this much-discussed, but often-misunderstood, subject. Water Resources, by Shimon Anisfeld, a research scientist at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, provides a comprehensive yet accessible primer for students and lay readers alike.
 
Anisfeld begins with the premise that people and water are deeply interlinked. Humans are composed mostly of water, as is the surface of the planet we live on. We use water in so many ways that we hardly notice our dependence on it for drinking, sanitation, irrigation, power production, and much more. Our lives and prosperity are dependent on a safe, adequate supply of water. Yet both human water systems and the natural ecosystems that underlie them are threatened from all directions: pollution, wasteful use, environmental degradation, global climate change, and political conflict.
 
Anisfeld addresses the principal ecological and human problems related to water. After introducing the basics of hydrology and water quality he explores issues including flooding, scarcity climate change, technologies, ecosystem degradation, human health, agriculture, industry, inefficiency and inequity, and political conflict. He notes that billions of people in developing countries today lack access to safe water and adequate sanitation, and they suffer from serious health consequences as a result. At the same time, scarce water is leading to tensions among states, countries, and regions throughout the world.
 
To ease this growing crisis, Anisfeld says, we must improve water resource management. He argues the key challenge is balancing competing demands for water, from drinking to navigation to ecosystem protection. This balancing act can be summed up by the 'three Es'—efficiency (obtaining the maximum total benefits from the water resource), equity (distributing those benefits in a fair way), and environment (protecting and restoring productive aquatic ecosystems). Wth clear, easy-to-follow explanations, Anisfeld explores approaches to improving management, familiarizing readers with the most important debates in the water policy field.
 
If we have any hope of solving the water crisis, Anisfeld writes, we must first understand the scientific and political issues involved in managing water. And this means understanding the complex interactions of the natural and human worlds-where water comes from and how it is used. This is the ambitious goal of Water Resources."
Yale Environment 360

"Are you looking for a book introducing water resources with a focus on global water crisis? This is a book you may want to read or collect. It would also be suitable reading material for students and professionals who are interested in water management. As a hydrologist, I have benefited by gaining a broader view of water issues existing in the U.S. and worldwide through reading this book. There are many discussions throughout the chapters that provide good judgements that can be valuable for water professionals in examining our water management strategies and policies."
Journal of the American Water Resources Association

Contents

Preface
 
Chapter 1. Past, Present, and Future: Introduction to the Water Crisis
Chapter 2. Quantity and Quality: Introduction to Water Resource Science
Chapter 3. Supply and Demand: Water Availability and Water Use
Chapter 4. Water, Water, Every Where: Dealing with Floods
Chapter 5. Nor Any Drop to Drink: Water Scarcity
Chapter 6. The End of Stationarity: Water in an Era of Global Change
Chapter 7. Soft and Hard: Technologies for Sustainable Water Management
Chapter 8. Humans and Ecosystems: Finding the Right Balance
Chapter 9. Overconsumption and Underconsumption: Water for Households and Health
Chapter 10. Crops and Drops: Getting More from Less in Agricultural Water Use
Chapter 11. Growth and Sustainability: Using Water More Wisely in Industry
Chapter 12. Basic Need and Economic Good: The Contested Role of Economics in Water Management
Chapter 13. Conflict and Cooperation: Transboundary and Intersectoral Water Management
Chapter 14. Conclusion: The Imperative of Better Management
 
Discussion Questions
Glossary
References
Recommended Readings
Index

Educator Resources

 

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