The Sustainable Water Resource Handbook Volume 2

Price: R195

Launch Date: 2011

South Africa’s first Sustainable Water Resource Handbook was launched early in 2010 and by all accounts Volume 1 has served to provide local water sector stakeholders with an effective reference tool that contains articles written by leading authors and experts in their respective sectors. Chapters ranged from climate, rainfall, groundwater and water management to wastewater, sanitation and agricultural water to name a few. More than 7000 copies are already in circulation.

Alive2green is proud to announce the arrival of Volume 2 of the Sustainable Water Resource Handbook which was published in time for an early 2011 distribution to between 8000 and 15 000 readers. Volume 2 of the Handbook is peer-reviewed and authors' submissions were reviewed for academic publication by a panel consisting of some of South Africa’s top researchers and sector experts. The peer-review process is in keeping with international academic handbook standards as well as requirements from publication stakeholders such as CSIR, but is also linked with the generation of the eLearning modules that will now be associated with all Volumes of the Handbook.

Alive2green was pleased to have Dr. Bill Harding as the editor, who has compiled a series of chapter titles centered on the theme of South African dams, eutrophication and related matters.   The central theme is nutrient pollution arising from wastewater - and why we are not doing something about this as has been the norm in so many other countries.  Dr. Harding has tried to include engineering and institutional opinions (George and Mark), as well as options for researchers who have recently been involved with P-free detergent surveys and EDC work to indicate how viable these options may be (Chris and Nicola).

You will find some of the background to the South African dams issue on Dr. Harding's website (www.dhec.co.za).  After he dealt with this in a plenary at SIL in Cape Town, he has been asked to expand this theme urgently:

"The importance of healthy dams for South Africa’s socio-economic development"

Rationale: South Africa is an arid country with a near-total dependence on water stored in dams.  As of 2010, approximately 30% of the stored water is seriously impaired due to poor water quality - with all of the dams in the economic heartland (Gauteng/Northwest) falling into this group.  A further 31% is on its way to becoming a problem.  Currently South Africa has no active programme to evaluate and manage its dams as multiuse (water supply, irrigation, recreation, property values, aquaculture).  If this situation is not addressed and if civil society does not recognize the problem, our economy stands to be severely and negatively impacted. Aim: To inform and empower government, industry and civil society to understand the role that dams play in the South African socio-economic framework.

Editor: Dr WR Harding

Review Editor: Dr JA Thornton

The newly launched Alive2green eLearning modules can be found on the www.alive2green.com/education platform and soon to join the current 6 Eco-Building modules and certificates will be at least four Sustainable Water eLearning Modules and one Certificate Course. The modules and the certificate are based on Volume 1 of the Handbook. Additional eLearning Modules will also be available soon.

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