This title examines how regulatory frameworks have addressed the various basic issues related to water resources management, and provides a comparative analysis of those issues. It elicits and discusses what it considers are the essential elements for a regulatory framework for water resources management, and identifies some emerging trends.

This book presents case studies that share important experiences regarding Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) in various countries. Following an introduction to theoretical concepts, responsibilities, and challenges, the subsequent chapters address, among other topics, an analysis of policies and regulations for water management in Brazil, the drivers that led California to adapt to the IWRM framework, and the international regulations for water markets and water banking in Australia and Chile. The implications of climate change for water resource systems in Mexico are discussed, as well as management strategies from California that could potentially serve as IWRM adaptation schemes in Mexico. Critical cases from Guanacaste (Costa Rica), and from Zayandehrud River Basin and Lake Urmia (Iran) are reviewed in terms of management practices and solutions. The book also provides an overview of the current availability and use of water resources in South Korea, and discusses the management of and international water law instruments for transboundary groundwater in Africa.

Drinking Water Safety: Basic Principles and Applications, examines the technical and scientific, as well as regulatory, ethical, and emerging issues of pollution prevention, sustainability, and optimization for the production and management of safe drinking water to cope with environmental pollution, population growth, increasing demand, terrorist threats, and climate change pressures. It presents a summary of conventional water and wastewater treatment technologies, in addition to the latest processes. Features include: Provides a summary of current and future of global water resources and availability. Summarizes key U.S. regulatory programs designed to ensure protection of water quality and safe drinking water supplies, with details on modern approaches for water utility resilience. Examines the latest water treatment technologies and processes, including separate chapters on evaporation, crystallization, nanotechnology, membrane-based processes, and innovative desalination approaches. Reviews the specialized literature on pollution prevention, sustainability, and the role of optimization in water treatment and related areas, as well as references for further reading. Provides illustrative examples and case studies that complement the text throughout, as well as an appendix with sections on units and conversion constants.

"The integrated approach used in this book will be beneficial to water industry professionals who need to understand the complex details of today's water resource systems and to deal with the numerous economic, legal, and regulatory factors of importance to both the public and private sectors."--Cover.

Expanding water reuse-the use of treated wastewater for beneficial purposes including irrigation, industrial uses, and drinking water augmentation-could significantly increase the nation's total available water resources. Water Reuse presents a portfolio of treatment options available to mitigate water quality issues in reclaimed water along with new analysis suggesting that the risk of exposure to certain microbial and chemical contaminants from drinking reclaimed water does not appear to be any higher than the risk experienced in at least some current drinking water treatment systems, and may be orders of magnitude lower. This report recommends adjustments to the federal regulatory framework that could enhance public health protection for both planned and unplanned (or de facto) reuse and increase public confidence in water reuse.

This open access textbook provides a concise introduction to economic approaches and mathematical methods for the study of water allocation and distribution problems. Written in an accessible and straightforward style, it discusses and analyzes central issues in integrated water resource management, water tariffs, water markets, and transboundary water management. By illustrating the interplay between the hydrological cycle and the rules and institutions that govern today’s water allocation policies, the authors develop a modern perspective on water management. Moreover, the book presents an in-depth assessment of the political and ethical dimensions of water management and its institutional embeddedness, by discussing distribution issues and issues of the enforceability of human rights in managing water resources. Given its scope, the book will appeal to advanced undergraduate and graduate students of economics and engineering, as well as practitioners in the water sector, seeking a deeper understanding of economic approaches to the study of water management.

This book is a printed edition of the Special Issue "Water Governance, Stakeholder Engagement, and Sustainable Water Resources Management" that was published in Water