Customer Reviews

Handbook of Water Use and Conservation: Homes, Landscapes, Industries, Businesses, Farms

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Amy Vicker's Handbook Of Water Use And Conversation is a vast, scholarly, yet eminently practical guide and reference work enabling the reader to skillfully get the most use out of the least water, whether one is attempting to conserve for one's home, business, industry, or farm. Black-and-what photographs and diagrams illustrate the many topics discussed herein, from optimal plumbing adapters to legal and economic incentives for water conservation. The Handbook Of Water Use And Conservation is enthusiastically recommended for anyone with environmental concerns for water quality and usage, from lay homeowners, to agriculturalists, to municipal authorities, to corporate C.E.O.'s.

To call Amy Vickers "Handbook of Water Use and Conservation" EXCEPTIONAL would be an understatement! As the Water Conservation Program Director for our town, it has been an invaluable source of information. I reference the book at least a half a dozen times a week and refer to it as my water "Bible." Thorough and very well written, it comprehensively covers residential, landscape, industrial/commercial/institutional, and agricultural water use and efficiency measures. I especially like the case study examples of efficiency measures and savings she references. In addition, the book provides a plethora of additional sources and organizations to contact for more information. Although relevant to all sectors (e.g., homeowners, industry, etc.), the book is a MUST for all water utilities and conservation professional's reference library. As a water utility and/or a professional in the water conservation field, to not own this book would be a disservice to yourself and your trade.

This excellent book would be a useful guide for homeowners and water professionals alike. It provides a wealth of technical information about conserving water for homes, landscapes, industry, and agriculture. A casual homeowner interested in minor changes to conserve water may find this book to be too technical, but a committed homeowner who is interested in comprehensive indoor and outdoor water conservation will find that this book contains all the information necessary to implement a conservation program. In addition to being an outstanding technical reference, this book is actually *interesting* to read. The text is clearly written with excellent photographs, and is peppered with relevant quotes and facts. Amy Vickers' book belongs on the shelf of every person interested in water conservation.

Those of us privileged to work with Amy Vickers have long wanted to bottle and distribute her encyclopedic knowledge of how to use water wisely and productively. Now she's done it. Her masterful book Handbook of Water Use and Conservation (WaterPlowPress.com, 2001) will long stand as the definitive work on demand-side aqueous solutions. It's clear, sound, thorough, modern, practical, profitable, and inspiring. Buy it, read it, practice it, publicize it, and the world's ominous water problems will soon be...liquidated.

As a resource policy professional who spent four years exploring the state of the art of water efficiency technologies and programs, I am blown away by the depth and breadth of information in this text. Recycle the pile of guides and reports that have built up over the years, lay off your staffer who is researching what other groups are doing, and let that expert water consultant stay home for a couple of extra days. Just read Vickers' book.

Andrew Jones, Project Director,

Sustainability Institute

I was fortunate to receive an advance copy of Amy Vickers' new book titled, "Handbook of Water Use and Conservation". I've been looking forward to Amy's book for several years and it was worth the wait. This book corrals the eclectic conservation field for the first time into a single comprehensive volume that offers advice on conservation planning as well as the best available information on domestic water use and efficiency, landscape water use and efficient design, industrial and commercial demand, and agricultural use and conservation.

Amy Vickers, who has degrees in engineering and philosophy, has been a leader in the fields of water conservation and integrated resources management for more than 10 years. Unlike most conservation experts who have focused their efforts on the arid West and Southwest regions, Vickers has built her consulting practice on the East Coast. Her clients include water providers across North America and Europe, giving her a broad understanding of water planning issues and efficiency practices and technologies. The Handbook of Water Use and Conservation, which took Vickers more than five years to research and write, is a melding of her own experience and the latest research efforts into water use and conservation effectiveness.

Vickers approaches water use and conservation as an engineer. The Handbook details scientifically sound conservation practices and measures that offer verifiable water savings. The book includes the expected and often re-hashed discussion of low-volume toilets, but it also provides an extensive consideration and analysis of new waterless toilet technologies including waterless urinals, composting toilets, and incinerator toilets. The Handbook of Water Use and Conservation is populated with hundreds of photos, charts, tables, and water use statistics that illustrate how conservation technologies work and what savings can be expected.

This book should be required reading for new water conservation specialists entering the field and it is an invaluable reference for anyone working in the field of water conservation.

I have found myself lately in the loop of western conservation literature, and with all the talk of water I really only found one place to go. After coming across Vickers in a state of the world book I looked a bit further until I found the handbook. This book, which is basically a textbook, really answers those burning questions you wanted the answers to. For example, if you find that you have ever wondered exactly how much water low flow toilets save, and the dollars required for replacing them as well as the dollars saved, this book is for you. If you ever considered what the office would be like with waterless urinals, and it's impact on water consumption per person in the office, this book is for you! This book escapes a lot of the chit chat and gets to the answers that you seek. Be warned, this is an academic book with real applications, facts, and statistics that are heavily researched. Don't pick up this book if you want to hear a fairy tale of how a drop of water from one of the poles made it's way to the kitchen sink. Pick up this book if you want to carry on intelligent conversation about water conservation solutions with modern day technology, pick up this book if you want to take that step forward in the home or at the office. There is a lot to be said when it comes to intelligent water usage in a big picture perspective, this book can shed some light on that perspective. It also allows the individual who wants to make a difference at home to look into how to do just that.

Amy Vickers' Handbook of Water Use and Conservation is for everyone who wishes to survive and prosper in our dehydrated future. A model of excellent content and design, this serious professional book reads like Popular Mechanics because of its easy manner and attractive presentation. Along with essential data on water use, it provides a myriad of water saving measures. It is wonderfully well-illustrated. Sidebars, quotes, and factoids (often humorous) are sprinkled throughout. This is the rare book that has truly universal appeal. Water and landscaping professionals will use it continually. Facility and business managers will find that it slashes water bills. Farmers will use it to make wiser irrigation decisions. Public and college libraries will want a copy for students, instructors, and water-savvy homeowners. There is no better way to get a quick and thorough education about this subject that is critical to our survival. This is the only water book that most people will ever need!

As a research analyst, I have referred to this excellent resource frequently since its purchase. It's great to have all the critical information regarding water conservation at one's fingertips.