Water resource management : sustainability in an era of climate change

473 Pages·2017·16.954 MB·English

by  McNabb, David E

Water Resource Management
David E. McNabb
Water Resource
Management
Sustainability in an Era of Climate Change
DavidE.McNabb
PacificLutheranUniversity
Tacoma,Washington,USA
ISBN978-3-319-54815-9 ISBN978-3-319-54816-6(eBook)
DOI10.1007/978-3-319-54816-6
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2017941191
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’ —
Americas water resources streams, rivers, wetlands, estuaries, lakes
—
and coasts are at the heart of our environment, our economy and out
ff
history. The quality and quantity of water resources a ect all levels of our
society from the national to the individual citizen.
A nation that fails to plan intelligently for the development and
protection of its precious waters will be condemned to wither because of
its shortsightedness. The hard lessons of history are clear, written on the
deserted sands and ruins of once-proud civilizations.
President Lyndon B. Johnson
fi
Message submitting to Congress the rst assessment
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of the Nations water resources, 1968
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For the men and women who toil in the Nations water world.
Preface
This book is about how water managers in the United States are
ff
responding to the call for increased e ortto achieve sustainable supplies
of clean fresh water for the present and future generations. Water
ff
managers face many barriers in their e orts to achieve sustainability in
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the supply of this resource. While water is indeed one of lifes most
essential commodities, in many parts of the country it is one of, if not
the, most stressed resources. Americans traditionally have shown a dis-
fi
regardforthewaytheytreatthe nitesupplyofwater.Streamsandlakes
arestillconsideredbytoomanytobeconvenientplacestodiscardwaste.
Today, water managers must deal with a multifaceted complex of
water-related challenges. Water management has been most concerned
with eliminating water pollution. But recent climate trends have shown
that our concerns can no longer be just about ensuring the water we
drink and use for our showers is safe to drink.
fi
There will always be a need to ensure rst the fresh water we drink
and use in the production of our food is clean and safe for human
fi
consumption. At the same time, however, we nd better ways to supply
ffi
su cientwaterneededtogeneratetheelectricityweusetopowerourair
conditioning and light our cities and to irrigate the food crops needed
for sustenance.
Water resource management is the human activity of planning,
developing, processing, storing, distributing, and managing the
ix
x Preface
—
optimum use of the available water resource whether it is for a local
waterutilityservicearea,awatershed,astate,amultistateregion,orfora
nation, water resource managers must consider the competing demands
forcurrentandfutureavailabilityofwaterinordertoarriveatasolution
that assuresequitableallocationofavailablewateron a sustainablebasis.
Watermanagementisasmuchaboutwhatismistakenlycalledwaste-
waterasitisaboutthewaterforconsumption;whatwasonceconsidered
to be wastewater is increasingly being into recycled into water for reuse
in our homes, industries, and farms. This important resource at is now
anintegralcomponentofwatermanagement,justashas thestormwater
fl
thatrefreshesouraquifersevenwhileitoften oodshugeswathsofland,
and pollutes our rivers, lakes, and aquifers. In many coastal areas,
advanced technology has made desalinated seawater is now a valued
addition to the overall water supply.
The coretheme in the book isthe need to manage allaspects ofthese
limitedsourcesofsupplyinanincreasinglyhostileenvironment.Itseeks
to explain how the men and women working in water management are
bringing the once separate classes of water together in ways that will be
need to achieve sustainability of the resource. Water managers must
ff
consider e ects of water supplies on the economy, environment, and
society in an integrated way. The goal for all of us is to ensure that a
reliable supply of clean, safe water is available when and where it is
’
needed by todays generation and those that will follow. We can get by
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without a lot of things, but we cant get by without water.
What do we mean by water management? According to the World
Bank, water resource management is the human activity of planning,
developing, processing, storing, distributing, and managing the opti-
mum use of available water resource. The responsibilities of water
managersarethesame,regardlessofwhetheritisforalocalwaterutility,
a watershed, a state, a multistate region, or for a nation, water resource
managers must consider the competing demands for current and future
availabilityof waterin orderto arriveata solutionthat assures equitable
allocation of available water on a sustainable basis (World Bank 2003).
The US water management story, in a sense, begins with an assess-
fi
ment of the state of the resource in the major basins in the rst decades
of this century. It goes on to paint a picture of how the industry, its
Preface xi
regulators, and its major stakeholders arrived at this critical juncture. It
concludes with several chapters on how water managers are moving
towarda moreholistic,innovative,andcollaborativeapproachtomana-
gingtheresourcesothattheelusivegoalofasustainableresourceisthere
for today, tomorrow and for future generations as well. The task is not
aneasyone.Inmany ways,thecardsarestackedagainstwatermanagers
achieving their goals. Global warming, changing precipitation patterns,
population growth, and continuing urbanization place barriers in the
way of overcoming these challenges and others.
Acknowledgments
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As always, I thank the administration and faculty of the Paci c
Lutheran University School of Business for their exceptional assistance
andsupportforthepastmorethan35years.Iamalsoverythankfulto
Ayswaraya Nagarajan for her extensive support in bringing out this
book.
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