Integrated Watershed Management: Principles and Practice, Second Edition

Until the 1970s, most water management practices sought to solve single, localized problems without taking account of the impacts of those actions on the biophysical, economic, and social elements of the larger watershed system. Since then, a strong global consensus has begun to develop around the notion that the watershed is the best unit for the management of water resources. The book presents watershed management as an integrated process, requiring collaboration among specialists in widely varying disciplines--engineering, biological sciences, economics, sociology, law, and ethics--and among government agencies, private industries, nongovernment organizations, and the public. It is intended for use by senior undergraduate and graduate students and by water management professionals. Presents a rational framework for the development of water resources management strategies: Provides an introduction to the technical elements and tools of water management; Illustrates the interplay of disciplines in the solutions to water resources problems; Demonstrates that water resources planning is not a clear-cut, scientific or engineering technique with a single "right" answer, but rather a continuous social process intended to move a community closer to its goals for environmental quality.