Review of River Engineering in Switzerland, Vol. 6, by H.-E. Minor and W. H. Hager: Staubli AG, Zurich; 2004; ISBN 3-7266-0066-3; 140 pp. Price: $20.

As in many other countries, river engineering in Switzerland has been of outstanding significance for centuries. In earlier times, the protection of settlements and agricultural land from flooding was as much an important task as the construction and maintenance of navigation routes. Without the river works that provided stabilization of river courses, the economic development of the country would not have been possible. Railways and roads endangered by rivers overtopping their banks provided the basis for hydroelectric power development. In recent years, rivers and lakes have become subjected to the increasing demands for recreational use and at the same time better integration into the environment. The exceptional flood events of the past decade required a purposeful allocation of resources for flood protection works that consider both ecological and economic benefits.

This booklet aims at presenting the historical development of river engineering in Switzerland. Major engineering projects are presented in separate chapters. The booklet covers a wide spectrum of river engineering developments starting before the 18th century up to river engineering methods used today.

Several authors deserve credit for writing separate chapters of this book: D. L. Vischer, Chr. Maag, L. Kalt, A. Kuhne, L. Filippini, S. Pellandini, H.-P. Willi, G. R. Bezzola, R. Fah., and A. Dredge from Colenco Power Engineering Ltd. translated the manuscript into English. The book is separated into eight nearly equal chapters: “Until 1800”; “Linth”; “The Alpine Rhine; Jura Waterways”; “Ticino”; “Pioneers”; “20th Century”; and “River Engineering Today.”

The main attribute of this booklet is that it integrates river engineering technology developed in very different parts and cantons, of Switzerland. All regions experienced similar problems dealing with flood control and navigation over several centuries. This booklet portrays Switzerland as a haven for young engineers and scientists motivated to control runoff to prevent devastating floods. The authors deserve a lot of credit for nicely highlighting the integral solutions to Alpine River engineering problems experienced in a culturally diverse environment. Numerous figures and sketches contain text and fragmented explanations in German, French, and Italian.

This booklet is extremely well illustrated. It contains a tremendous collection of photographs, paintings, and sketches dating as far back as Leonardo da Vinci in the 15th century. Brief sketches of pioneers are presented from one of the fathers of Swiss River engineering, Jost Knopfli, in the 16th century to Hans-Albert Einstein and Robert Muller, both renowned for their sediment transport formulas.

The disastrous flood events on the naturally braided river branches of many Alpine River courses have triggered the development of river engineering techniques. It is not without interest that changes in bed configuration around groynes or spur dykes have been studied and understood for a long time. The authors nicely replicate sketches from the studies of B. F. de Belidor (1737–1753). Similarly, the effects of upstream or downstream sloping groynes were studied as far back as J. von Schmerl in 1809. Despite its growing interest by river environmentalists, fascines, willow mats, and willow posts have been in use for centuries. Their failure to withstand the large forces of devastating flashfloods and their gradual replacement with more resistant river improvement works are well illustrated in this book.

Other very interesting features of this book include the disappearance or sedimentation of the Lake of Tuggen near Zurich in the past millennium. The historic flood marker in Gasi (p. 31) is quite interesting in that the recent flood of 1999 on the lower third of the scale can be placed in context of floods over a much larger time-scale. This is not atypical of other European sites where floods have been monitored for centuries. Such records should provide clues essential to the recurrence analysis of exceptionally large floods and climate changes. In 1842, Richard la Nicca’s proposed diversion of the Aare River into Lake Biel and the excavation of the Aarberg-Hagneck canal stand out as tremendous achievements of the Jura Waterways Improvement works. The gradual replacement of braided systems with more aligned single channels remains typical of river engineering techniques developed over several centuries. The example of the Ticino River between Bellinzona and Lake Maggiore is indeed a major accomplishment. This booklet clearly illustrates the fact that the design of meandering and braided systems for stream restoration purposes may be useful for short periods of return. However, such techniques may not stand the test of time under catastrophic floods with longer periods of return.

In my opinion, the authors celebrate the successes of the Swiss River engineering technology. The book spans centuries, and the wonderful illustrations will leave a long-lasting impression in the reader’s mind. The booklet is of general interest to the public, although it will be most appealing to hydraulic and river engineers. This book was not intended as an academic textbook, although there is a definite artistic component to the presentation. The text is very light and perhaps sparse in many places; the illustrations were carefully selected and nicely presented. Readers can simply open this book anywhere and just start reading and exploring at will. The booklet illustrates lessons learned over several centuries of river engineering. This booklet should be part of the collection of all river engineers, and particularly all Swiss engineers.

The publisher should be complimented for the outstanding quality of the presentation at a very low price. Most large color photographs are wonderfully rendered. The book is printed on high quality and heavy paper. An odd format was selected, most likely to allow printing long landscape maps without constantly turning the book sideways. The booklet is affordable to all.