Literature Review: Basic Environmental Technology

Title: Basic Environmental Technology - Water Supply, Waste Management, and Pollution Control

Author: Jerry A. Nathanson, P.E.

Publication: Union Country College Cranford, New Jersey

Summary:

This book offers a pragmatic introduction to the topics of water supply, waste management, and pollution control. The first chapter of the book provides an overview of environmental technology, including elements of public health, ecology, geology, and soils. The next nine chapters focus on water and wastewater topics, including hydraulics and hydrology, water quality and water pollution, drinking water treatment and distribution, sewage collection, sewage treatment and disposal, and stormwater management. Municipal solid waste, hazardous waste, air pollution, and noise pollution are covered in Chapters 11 through 14. Finally, sections covering environmental impact statements and audits, the employment of technicians, technologists, and engineers, units and conversions, selected references, an extensive glossary, and a colour photo insert are included in the Appendix. All in all this book includes both the human and physical aspect of water management through various approaches of different disciplines.

Review:

In my opinion, this is book offers a complete understanding towards water management, which is highly relevant to our RESL project. However, I have encountered problems reading this book as parts of it goes deep into the scientific explanation to things like physical, chemical and biological parameters of water quality. Nevertheless, it is still a very interesting book as there is a distinct link between the mankind's needs for existence and their impact on the physical world. It is only when we are able to perceive the world from these two perspectives that we can see a more complete picture of this dynamic world. Relating back to our RESL project, this book is extrememly helpful as it offers technological solutions to drinking water purification. After all, this book equips us with the neccessary technological understanding of our RESL project and thus, it is an important reading.