Handbook of Water Use and Conservation

Review: Handbook of Water Use and Conservation By Amy Vickers Reviewed by Russell A. Cohen Massachusetts Department of Fisheries, USA Amy Vickers. Handbook of Water Use and Conservation. Amherst, MA: WaterPlow Press, 2001. 446 pp. ISBN 1-931579-07-5 (hardcover). US99. 95. Recycled paper. paper. 'Water is our most precious resource' is a refrain expressed by many-from engineers and poets to politicians-yet humanity's actions have often belied those words. Amidst the world's growing population and increasing demand for more water, many regions around the globe are facing the hard realities of groundwater depletion, chronic drought, dried-up rivers, poor water quality, mounting infrastructure costs, and diminishing alternatives for additional supplies. As we peer into the 21st century, water conservation is looking far more like an imperative than an option (p. xv). So begins Amy Vickers' Handbook of Water Use and Conservation, to date the most authoritative, encyclopedic reference work available on this subject. The Handbook contains detailed descriptions of hundreds of water-efficiency technologies and practices for all customer groups-residential, landscape, industrial, commercial, institutional, and agricultural. Vickers backs up her claim that water conservation represents The Great Untapped Water Supply (p. xv) by presenting hundreds of proven water efficiency measures that reduce and control both short-term water demand (such as during drought and peak conditions) as well as long-term demand for each type of customer. Potential water savings and related costs are provided too, so you can know which measures will provide the best benefit/cost ratio for any type of customer. Vickers points out that many, if not most, water conservation measures have a relatively short payback time, often two years or less. As someone from a densely populated state where profligate household water use increasingly threatens the natural integrity of our streams and other hydric ecosystems, I found the Handbook's sections on domestic water use (and abuse) particularly valuable. Here's a brief example: The American obsession with lawns and lawn care products has come under scrutiny in recent years because of concerns about wasted water and the burdens of time, cost, and pollution that a well-manicured green lawn exacts from its owner and the natural environment (p. 145). Vickers points out that lawn watering represents one of the biggest non-essential uses of water in many communities as well as the fact that keeping a lawn green with no brown spots during midsummer is often a costly, losing battle, even with regular