Flooding in California. Drought and famine in the Horn of Africa. Massive fish kills in Texas and Australia. "Forever chemicals" in US drinking water. Similar headlines are sure to dominate the news in the years ahead. What is sometimes missing from the headlines, though, is an understanding that these diverse problems are related: manifestations of serious underlying stresses on our water systems. These stresses require sustained attention from water managers, scientists, policymakers, and the public, even after the headlines have faded. That attention, in turn, requires a shared understanding of how water systems function, the problems facing them, and the tools available to increase their resilience.
This text fills that need by providing the necessary knowledge base for understanding and managing complex water problems. It is geared primarily towards students in water management courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels but will also be a helpful resource for practicing water professionals who want to get new ideas or a broader view of the subject.
Rather than focusing on one type of water problem (as many water books do), this text explores the entire gamut of water issues, from dams to desalination, from flooding to famine, from prior appropriation to pumped storage, from sanitation to stormwater. And rather than teaching from one disciplinary perspective (as many water books do), it looks at water problems through a variety of lenses: hydrology, climate science, ecology, and engineering, but also law, economics, history, and environmental justice. The result is a concise yet comprehensive introduction to one of the most critical and demanding challenges of our time: developing just and sustainable solutions to water management. ""With Water Management, Anisfeld has accomplished a feat that will benefit a broad audience, and hopefully the biosphere we call home….On the whole, Anisfeld's fundamental and clearly articulated call for resilience, based on the end of stationarity and backed up by his comprehensive assessment of the field, survives any debate."" ""This reviewer appreciates Anisfeld's comprehensive treatment of water management issues….The use of chapter summaries, a terminology glossary, notes, references, and websites makes this book valuable as a textbook for college students. The book also can serve as a very useful reference book for both water resource management academics and practicing professionals."" ""A seminal and comprehensive study, Water Management is exceptionally well organized and presented, making it an ideal curriculum textbook."" "Shimon Anisfeld's Water Management is the book I wish I had in graduate school! He takes water from the realm of engineering, where decades of technocratic decisions created a legacy of social and environmental challenges, to the real world of today. Anisfeld's well-organized and thorough treatment of how societies manage and use water supplies, and how those management frameworks impact people and nature, is essential reading for everyone working in water and anyone considering a career in this space."---Jennifer Pitt, Colorado River Program Director, National Audubon Society "With an even hand and staggering range of knowledge-across time, beyond borders, and deep into every conceivable facet of contemporary water policy-Anisfeld's book slakes a student's thirst to know more and challenges established practitioners to re-engage what they thought they knew, anew. A stunning achievement."---Laurel Firestone, California State Water Board Member & Co-founder of Community Water Center "Shimon Anisfeld has written the water law and policy book we need. Centering justice and sustainability, he leads us through the challenges of water availability, quality, and governance. He also recognizes that private and public decision making will be critical to our water future. I could not recommend this book more highly for t
