Water, Rivers and Creeks

Rating:
Summary: Excellent and readable review of hydrology
Review: Water, Rivers and Creeks by Luna Leopold. I still have my copy of Water - A Primer, Dr. Leopold's first update of his slim hydrology primer ($2.95 in 1974). Like Marie Morisawa's book on streams, "Water" has been loaned out many a time, and thankfully it has always made its way back home (if the person who has 'Streams' would please return it...). I wasn't 5 pages into "Water, Rivers and Creeks before I began deciding who should get to borrow the new one first. I was reassured to find that the clear explanations of hydrologic processes remain and that the updating of the text has not diluted its value as an excellent review of hydrology. The order of the topics has been revised to smooth transitions and as a result the book is even more readable than the original. Particularly significant is the fact that the author has thoroughly revised graphics and text to use international units, and broadened the discussion of water policy, especially regarding the impacts of irrigation and dam construction. Part I (Hydrology and Morphology) contains chapters on precipitation, infiltration, groundwater, surface water, channel formation and maintenance, and vegetation. Part II (The Water Resource and its Management) contains chapters on water supply, water use, water availability and quality, land management, water treament and sewage disposal. This useful volume appeals to me as a supplemental textbook university courses, for staff training, and as a reference volume for water policy makers - and even at today's price of $30.00 it represents a great value. - Dr. Jeanette H. Leete, General Secretary American Institute of Hydrology