Fully renewed and extended, this edition is a valuable source of information for anyone involved in drainage engineering and management. It provides new theories, technologies, knowledge and experiences in combination with traditional land development practices in the humid temperature zone. Aspects covered include: management and maintenance; drainage application and design; and adverse impacts on the environment. Intended as both a handbook and a textbook, this work is of particular value to university students as well as professionals within drainage development, engineering and management.

Modern Land Drainage 2nd edition is a fully revised and updated edition of the 2004 edition. Modern Land Drainage describes traditional drainage formulas (Hooghoudt, Kirkham, Donnan, Ernst, Glover-Dumm) for rainfed agriculture in the humid temperature zone. Significant parts are devoted to drainage for salinity control of irrigated land in (semi-) arid zones, and to drainage of rice land in the humid tropics. Institutional, management and maintenance aspects are extensively covered, as well as the mitigation of adverse impacts of drainage interventions on the environment. The latest computer applications for drainage design in the context of integrated water management are described (DRAINMOD, HEC, SWAP, etc.). Field surveys are executed by governments, with the aid of consultants, but rarely are the end stakeholders (i.e., farmers and general public) involved from inception to planning to execution of a drainage system. Yet, during the Operation, Management and Maintenance (OMM) phase of a water management system, they are expected to takeover, run, bear and be responsible for the costs of OMM. The book describes successful methodologies and processes to be followed for engagement of stakeholders at all levels, from government to farm, from minister to farmer, and, from beginning to end. The book covers all aspects needed for sustainable drainage. The latest survey methodologies with satellites and drones are suggested to assess cause and effect. Waterlogging and salinity are the effect of something caused most likely upstream of the drainage problem location. Hence treating the cause may be more cost-effective. Triple Bottom Line (social, environmental and financial considerations) and the water-food-energy nexus are an integral part of the drainage design process. Controlled drainage, i.e. the balance of removal and conservation of drainage water and minimising solute transport as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA principle) is extensively described. This work is intended for use both as a university level textbook and as a professional handbook; it is of particular value to professionals engaged in drainage development in the context of integrated water resources and river basin management, civil and agricultural engineers, government officials, university students and libraries.

Man’s control over the elements of land and water for the purposes of agriculture was fundamental to the development of civilisations in the past, and remains so today. This volume deals with the processes of irrigation, and land drainage and reclamation, and illustrates the variety of technological and engineering solutions in a wide chronological and geographical perspective. The sophistication of many pre-modern systems is clear, as is the impact of modern technologies. Important points that emerge are that there was no steady or linear progression in techniques across time - instances of the transfer of ideas are balanced by cases of independent development - and that the correlations between irrigation systems and social structures demand more complex explanations than often proposed.

Pp. 57.