BOOK R E V I E W S

J. Kindler and C. S. Russell (eds.), Modeling Water Demand, Academic Press Inc. Publ., London, 1984, pp. 243, $28.00

This is a technical book that draws on the expertise of the systems analysts, economists, and water resource planners who in separate collaborative efforts authored the individual chapters. It summarizes some of the case studies that were part of the research on water demand at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) from 1976 to 1980. Given the worldwide concern over anticipated and already experienced shortages of water, the book is especially important.

There are two principal methodologies for estimating the demand for water. In the statistical approach, the quantity of water demanded for, say, residential use is the dependent variable in a regression analysis in which the independent variables include population levels, per capita income, measures of technology and lifestyle, and the prices of water withdrawals and wastewater disposal. It has been a popular view that the requirements for water are inflexible and largely independent of price. If there is an explanation for this view it is that water use is typically priced below its true cost, which would include the external costs associated with the wastewater after it is discharged and also the present value of future replacement if the source of the water is being depleted. It is well known by economists that the lower the price of a good, the fewer the economically-feasible substitution possibilities for moderating its consumption and, therefore, the more inelastic the demand with respect to price. This is dramatically illustrated in the book by a demand curve for water (p. 95) in which the prices and quantities are logarithmically plotted so that the inverse of the slope of the demand curve is the elasticity of demand with respect to price. At higher, more realistic prices, the sensitivity of quantity demanded to price becomes apparent in this ingenious diagram.

A second methodology for estimating the demand for water is the engineering approach, which is often based on hypothetical data chosen to simulate real world conditions as closely as possible. Typical of the engineering approach are mathematical programming models in which the available inputs, including water supply, are the constraints, and some industrial output or the value of a set of outputs is maximized. It may also be the cost of producing a fixed set of outputs from variable quantities of inputs that is minimized. There are alternative production processes that vary in their water requirements, allowing for substitution possibilities, such as capital for water (for example, open cooling systems versus nonevaporative towers, lined versus unlined acquatic canals, flooding versus drip methods of irrigation, wastewater recycling versus discharging, etc.).

These models can be used to determine the efficient quantities of water input corresponding to alternative withdrawal and discharge prices, or alternatively, the shadow prices of water corresponding to a sequence of fixed water supply constraints. It is of interest that the logarithmic demand curve noted above actually came out of one of these mathematical programming models.

Water, Air, and Soil Pollution 35 (1987) 207.

208 BOOK REVIEWS

This emphasis on technological relationships is not exclusive to the engineering approach, but, appears in the statistical methodology as well. One of the regression analyses in the book, which examined the water requirements for paper production in Holland, appears to have focused as much on individual production processes as does the newer engineering approach.

A problem with the engineering approach is that it simulates perfect efficiency. It is not clear that free market processes or even command economies can, in the real world, achieve that degree of efficiency in the use of water. This suggests the need for Pigouvian prices or penalties on wastewater discharges, a possibility that is not ignored in this excellent volume.

Southern lllinois University, School of Business, Edwardsville, IL 62026, U.S.A.

ROBERT E. KOHN

L. W. Wang and N. C. Pereira (eds.), Handbook of Environmental Engineering, Vol. 4, Water Resources and Natural Control Processes, The Humana Press, Inc., 1986, pp. 496, US $79.

Within the past two or three decades, the expansion of the scope of the discipline of Sanitary Engineering beyond the confines of sanitation, coupled with the desire on the part of its practitioners for a more encompassing designation of their profession, led to the replacement of the old title 'Sanitary Engineering' with the new one, 'Environmental Engineering'. Judging from the titles of the five volumes projected for it, the Handbook of EnvironmentalEngineering series is an excellent example of the appropriateness of the change in title. While on the subject of titles, it should be noted that the title of the present volume (i.e., Volume IV) differs from that projected for Volume IV in the 'Preface'. On the other hand, the title projected for Volume V, namely, Physicochemical Technologies for Water and Wastewater Treatment more closely describes the coverage of the present volume.

Inasmuch as each of the nine chapters that make up the present Volume IV deals with a separate topic, the titles of the nine together with the headings of their respective topics indicate the extent of the collective coverage as well as the wide diversity between the general subjects selected for coverage in the volume. (Each chapter begins with an 'Introduction'.) The title of Chapter 1 is 'Surface Water Analysis'. It has 4 subtopics, namely, mathematical simulation of surface water system, oxygen consumption and replenishment in receiving waters, coliform bacteria die-off, and modeling application of surface water quality. The second chapter is entitled 'Water Quality Control of Tidal Rivers and Estuaries'. Topics covered in it are water quality parameters, basic mathematical models, working models, and practical examples. The title of Chapter 3 is 'Cooling of Thermal Discharges'. It has only two main topics, namely, cooling ponds

Water. Air. and Soil Pollution 35 (1987).

BOOK REVIEWS 209

and cooling towers. Chapter 4 bears the title, 'Control of Reservoirs and Lakes' and deals with 13 topics. Four of the 13 topics are: special features of water, infiltration, thermal impacts on the aquatic environment, and goals of water pollution control. Chapter 5, 'Deep-Well Disposal', has an introduction and eight topics. Among the eight are basic well designs, evaluation of a proposed injection well site, potential hazards - ways to prevent, detect, and correct them, and protection of usable aquifers. The title of Chapter 6 is 'Chemical Control of Pests and Vectors'. It has seven topics. Interest- ingly, the seventh topic is alternative to chemical poisoning. The title of Chapter 7 is 'Management of Radioactive Wastes'. Among its seven topics are sources of radioactive wastes, transport mechanisms, waste management, and anticipated future problems. Chapter 8 has the title 'Drying and the Evaporation Processes' and the five topics, natural dewatering, thermal drying, evaporation, theory of drying, and theory of evaporation. The title of the ninth and final chapter is 'Dredging Operations and Waste Disposal'. Aside from an introduction, conclusions and summary, and practical examples, it has eight topics. Among the topics are types of dredges, dredge disposal and environmental enhancement alternatives, dredge treatment alternatives, and quality criteria of treated sediment and water.

In summary, the volume has many of the characteristics of a textbook in its explanation and discussion of principles in the individual chapters. It has the earmarks of a handbook in the independence of its chapters and its emphasis on approaches, methodology, and explanations. As such, it serves as a very useful reference for individuals faced with the need to understand and solve today's water quality problems. Its utility is enhanced by the liberal documentation of each chapter with a set of references, by its abundance and thoroughness of illustration, and by the many examples complete with step-by-step solutions and explanations. The only criticism - a mild one - is the brevity of the 'Subject Index'.

Cal Recovery Systems, Suite 200, 160 Broadway, Richmond, CA 94804, U.S.A.

CLARENCE G. GOLUEKE

A. J. Jakeman and R. W. Simpson, Air Quality and Resource Development. A Risk

Assessment in the Hunter Region in Australia, Monograph 16, Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies (CRES), Australian National University, Canberra, Australia, 1987, 315 pp.

The Hunter Region in Southeast Australia (33 ° S, 151 ° E) is an area of major industrial and power development within a basically rural setting. Easy access to high quality coal reserves has attracted five major power stations, two aluminum smelters, one iron and steel complex, one sulphur, zinc and lead plant, and many open-cut and underground coal mines. The Region has been the site for several air quality studies over

Water. Air, and Soil Pollution 35 (1987).

210 BOOK REVIEWS

the past ten years. As a participant in many of these studies, I welcome with pleasure Jakeman and Simpson's (hereafter J&S) excellent monograph, which provides a thorough review of air quality problems as presently known in the Hunter, and suggestions for further important research.

J & S's monograph is divided into four sections, containing ten chapters, plus a series of excellent appendices. Section I contains the introductory chapter and a chapter explaining J & S's approach to risk assessment from air pollution. Section II contains discussions of specific air pollution problems, including chapters on air pollution from open-cut mining; emissions from large power plant sources; air quality in Newcastle, the major city in the Region; pollution from the various sources close to the sea coast; and pollution from mobile sources. Section III contains a discussion of possible government policy approaches to pollution control and the options available. Section IV contains conclusions and recommendations for future research. The appendices provide a detailed description of dose-damage thresholds to human health and vegetation, and a description of the statistical and mathematical models used to calculate ground level pollution concentrations in various Hunter studies. There is also a virtually complete bibliography of all air quality studies related to the Region.

Rather than discuss the subject matter in all chapters in general, I will highlight some important features of the monograph as examples of the contents. J & S define risk assessment (Chapter 2) as 'the probability value of an undesirable event and its consequences that arise from a spontaneous natural origin or from a human action that is transmitted through the environment'. Risk is probability times the consequence of the event and differs from environmental impact assessment in that it evaluates 'worst case' event probabilities rather than average pollution concentrations. J & S determine risk through statistical analysis of Hunter Region pollution data, apply their results to potential human.health and vegetation problems through dose-damage evaluation, and then demonstrate how this method can be used to plan for minimal air pollution disruption of the environment by new and existing developments. J & S emphasize that risk assessment is most valuable as a supplementary tool to existing Eulerian or Lagrangian air pollution dispersion models.

As an example, J & S use both dispersion models and risk assessment to review and evaluate studies of the impact of sulphur dioxide (SO2), particulate, and other pollution emissions from two adjoining large power stations in the inland section of the Region (Chapter 4). Here, knowledge of atmospheric stability is limited, and although SO 2 research around the older station in 1980-1981 established a minimal impact on the surrounding environment, the addition of one other, larger, power station plus the potential for more stations, has created the problem of merging emissions from several sources. J & S suggest through their results that plumes from the present power stations would only merge 2-3 ~/o of the time (under NE-SW winds). This evaluation is open to controversy, and the possibility of merging plumes under the prevailing NW-SE air flow under specific stability situations cannot be discounted. Detailed future research is required to find answers to this problem.

A fairly unusual aspect of the monograph is the inclusion of a chapter discussing air

Water, Air, and Soil Pollution 35 (1987).

BOOK REVIEWS 211

pollution management possibilities in the Hunter (Chapter 8). This section was developed for political and economic decision makers to use when considering further large-scale developments in the Hunter. It describes the use of economic input-output models to evaluate pollution emissions within the planning framework, and recommends a series of policy options, ranging from direct controls to economic incentives. Of these, three are most important. Taxes on emissions could be an effective way to reduce air pollution. Pollution quotas may be possible after simulating a 'pollution market' in the Region. A central data bank housing all relevant environmental data for the region must be established.

J & S end their monograph with 13 recommendations concerning future research on air quality problems in the Region. Of particular concern are the lack of data on atmospheric inversion heights and frequencies in the inland parts of the Region; the lack of information on suspended particulates and nitrogen oxides in high risk areas; and the need for a spatially intensive monitoring exercise in the Newcastle area. The measurement phase of an acid rain study has been completed since monograph compilation. I would add studies of acid fog and the summertime brown haze over the Region to the fist.

J & S's monograph is an important source of reference information about air quality problems in one of Australia's two major development areas, and should be part of the library of anyone interested in Australian air pollution problems. It also provides an excellent example of how air quality results from several diverse sources can be compiled together to establish an overall picture and requirements for future work. This mono- graph would be a most useful addition to the bookshelf of anyone interested in air quality.

Dept. of Geography, University of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia

HOWARD A. BRIDGMAN