Book review - From US Water News Written By Peter Wild

Once again, Our profligacy is the issue, although one more of omission than commission. Yet in the mere realization of what's going on in our surroundings comes a great deal of hope, urged on by this book.

Disappearing into the oubliettes of local sewers are millions of gallons of water running off the land each year. Taking with them, of course, a good load of motor oil, ground-up plastics, pesticides, and other grunge picked up along the way.

Now there's an opportunity, indeed. The issue is how to take this pernicious brew and turn it, into an asset. The means, at least one of them, is Stormwater Treatment, a highly technical text promising to get the job done, although in part challenging some current practices. Engineers and chemists of consulting firms and government agencies who devote their careers to the field will find this an engaging, thorough, and updated text, resplendent with the charts, graphs and formulae appealing to avid specialists.

For instance, the chapter on sorptive media filtration goes through the possibilities of amended sand, activated carbon, and such, while also taking a new look at an older technology. First used in the nineteenth century, peat was abandoned because of problems with clogging, but now, with modifications, peat is coming back into use and valued for its abilities to attack stormwater bacteria and viruses. Any number of approaches are available to match specific situations, including filters and separators. Among my favorite, however, are constructed wetlands. These artificial ponds imitate nature. Their plants and soils remove pollutants while also providing habitat for fish and frolicking muskrats. What we have, then, is at once a scientifically valid solution and a gracious aesthetic delight, a mini wildland bringing solace to urbanites.