This volume presents up-to-date information on the status and assessment of water resources in Slovakia and methods for their development. The major themes include key facts about Slovakian water resources, their assessment and development; water supply and demand; irrigation water; groundwater; water and sediment quality with a focus on mining water; wastewater management in Slovakia; and rainwater management. The book closes with general conclusions and recommendations for future research. It is a valuable resource for graduate students and researchers as well as for decision makers involved in sustainable development.

This book offers up-to-date information on the impact of climate change on water resources in Slovakia, the occurrence of drought and floods, hazards and protection methods. The topics covered include hydrological extremes, such as droughts and flood, in Slovakia; risk assessment and protection; sustainable management; and water management in buildings. The closing chapter provides general conclusions and recommendations for future research. It appeals to graduate students and researchers as well as to decision makers involved in planning future water resources in Slovakia.

Availability of and adequate accessibility to freshwater and energy are two key technological and scientific problems of global significance. At the end of the 20th century, the deficit of water for human consumption and economic application forced us to focus on rational use of resources. Increasing the use of renewable energy sources and improving energy efficiency is a challenge for the 21st century. Geothermal energy is heat energy generated and stored in the Earth, accumulated in hydrothermal systems or in dry rocks within the Earth’s crust, in amounts which constitute the energy resources. The sustainable management of geothermal energy resources should be geared towards optimization of energy recovery, but also towards rational management of water resources since geothermal water serves both as energy carrier and also as valuable raw material. Geothermal waters, depending on their hydrogeothermal characteristics, the lithology of the rocks involved, the depth at which the resources occur and the sources of water supply, may be characterized by very diverse physicochemical parameters. This factor largely determines the technology to be used in their exploitation and the way the geothermal water can be used. This book is focused on the effective use of geothermal water and renewable energy for future needs in order to promote modern, sustainable and effective management of water resources. The research field includes crucial new areas of study: • an improvement in the management of freshwater resources through the use of residual geothermal water; • a review of the technologies available in the field of geothermal water treatment for its (re)use for energetic purposes and freshwater production, and • the development of balneotherapy. The book is aimed at professionals, academics and decision makers worldwide, water sector representatives and administrators, business enterprises specializing in renewable energy management and water treatment, working in the areas of geothermal energy usage, water resources, water supply and energy planning. This book has the potential to become a standard text used by educational institutions and research & development establishments involved in the geothermal water management.

This is the first of two volumes that together provide a comprehensive overview of the current sustainable and low-cost wastewater treatment technologies applied in communities that lack the financial and technical resources needed for an environmental, disease prevention and health nexus.This book reviews natural wastewater treatment technologies and traces the current challenges in wastewater management and sustainability. Divided into 4 themed parts, the chapters from expert contributors cover topics such as simplified and low-energy natural treatment facilities, bioremediation and biotechnology for green future, environmental impact assessment of wastewater reuse, wastewater management and sustainability for irrigation, high-performance and cost-effective biosorbents for heavy metals removal, and eco-friendly nanomaterials for wastewater environmental management. The readers will discover essential recommendations for improving natural treatment systems to withstand emerging contaminants, namely, endocrine disruption chemicals, surfactants, personal care products, pesticides, and pharmaceuticals. Readers will also find valuable guidelines to ensure sustainable and innovative solutions for wastewater treatment in the light of climate change, resource, demand, and funding challenges.Given the breadth and depth of its coverage, the book offers an invaluable source of information for researchers, students and environmental managers alike.

This title was first published in 2002: Now that the Cold War is over, ethnic and regional conflicts are emerging over resources and the environment. The management of water, the lifeblood of any country, is becoming a vital issue. This volume offers a study of conflict management of water resources. It includes some selected papers presented at an international meeting, held at the Mahatma Gandhi Center of Conflict Prevention and Management in Ahmedabad, India. Other invited papers have also been included in the collection. Obviously it was not possible to address here all aspects of the vast field of water management. The main focus of this work is the management of water conflict and its implications for peace.

This committee report, Sustainability Criteria for Water Resource Systems, addresses the need and challenge to reexamine our approaches to water resources planning and management. Water resource systems need to be able to satisfy the changing demands placed on them, now and on into the future, without system degradation. In order to create these sustainable systems, a more holistic and integrated life-cycle approach to water resources planning, development, and management must take place. Such an approach should lead to plans, facilities, and policies that will be physically, economically, environmentally, ecologically, and socially acceptable and beneficial by current as well as future generations. This document examines many of the major issues and challenges raised by the concept of sustainability applied to water resource system design and management. Various suggested guidelines are reviewed including the extent to which they have been applied in the development and management of water resource systems. Some approaches for measuring and modeling sustainability are outlined, and ways are illustrated in which these measures and models might be used when evaluating designs and operating policies. While this manual focuses on the contributions scientists, engineers, economists, and planners can make, it recognizes that the public stakeholders and their political representatives and institutions must also contribute to efficient and sustainable water management.

The management of water resources across boundaries, whether sub-national or international, is one of the most difficult challenges facing water managers today. The upstream exploitation or diversion of groundwater or rivers can have devastating consequences for those living downstream, and transboundary rivers can provide a source of conflict between nations or states, particularly where water resources are scarce. Similarly, water based-pollution can spread across borders and create disputes and a need for sound governance.1. Introduction: Setting the Scene for Transboundary Water Management Approaches2. Why Negotiate? Asymmetric endowments and asymmetric power and the invisible nexus of water, trade and power that brings apparent water security3. Power, Hegemony and Critical Hydropolitics4. Getting Beyond the Environment-Conflict Trap: Benefit-Sharing in International River Basins5. International Water Law: concepts, evolution and development6. Aquifer Resources in a Transboundary Context: A Hidden Resource? - Enabling the Practitioner To 'See It and Bank It' for Good Use7. Governance in Transboundary Basins - the Role of Stakeholders, Concepts and Approaches in International River Basins8. Environmental Flows in Shared Watercourses: Review of Assessment Methods and Relevance in the Transboundary Setting9. Managing Water Negotiations and Conflicts in Concept and in PracticeContributorsIndexPart I: Analytical Approaches to Transboundary Water ManagementPart II: Transboundary Water Management Polity and PracticePart III: Challenges and OpportunitiesThis book is the first to bring together in a concise and accessible way all of the main topics to be considered when managing transboundary waters. It will raise the awareness of practitioners of the various issues needed to be taken into account when making water management decisions and provide a practically-based overview for advanced students. The authors show clearly how vital it is to cooperate effectively over the management of shared waters to unlock their contribution to regional sustainable development. The book is largely based on a long-running and tested international training programme, run by the Stockholm International Water Institute and Ramboll Natura, and supported by the Swedish International Development Co-operation Agency (Sida), where the respective authors have presented modules on the programmes. It addresses issues not only of conflict, but also of managing power asymmetries, benefit-sharing, stakeholder participation, international water law, environmental water requirements and regional development. It will be particularly useful for those with a background in hydrology or engineering who wish to broaden their management skills.