Water resource management : sustainability in an era of climate change PDF
Preview Water resource management : sustainability in an era of climate change
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 ©TheEditor(s)(ifapplicable)andTheAuthor(s)2017 Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsaresolelyandexclusivelylicensedbythePublisher,whether thewholeorpartofthematerialisconcerned,specificallytherightsoftranslation,reprinting,reuseof illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similarordissimilarmethodologynowknownorhereafterdeveloped. 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Coverimage©MoelynPhotos/GettyImages Printedonacid-freepaper ThisPalgraveMacmillanimprintispublishedbySpringerNature TheregisteredcompanyisSpringerInternationalPublishingAG Theregisteredcompanyaddressis:Gewerbestrasse11,6330Cham,Switzerland ’ — 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 ’ of the Nations water resources, 1968 ’ 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 ’ 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 ’ 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 fi 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. xiii
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