Review of Water Resources Engineering Handbook of Essential Methods and Design by Anand Prakash: ASCE Press, Reston, Va.; 2004; 348 pp. Price: $99.

The material presented in this book is of interest and directly usable by practicing water resources engineers. The reader is expected to have knowledge of fundamental hydraulics, fluid mechanics, and hydrology. There are seven chapters in the book: Introduction, Hydrologic analysis, Hydraulic analysis, Groundwater, Hydraulic design, Economic analysis, Environmental issues and monitoring.

The first chapter is very short. It discusses what water resources engineering is and the planning of water resources engineering projects. The second chapter discusses different methods of hydrologic analysis. The rational method and regression equations are the two methods presented for peak flow estimation. This is followed by a fairly detailed discussion of runoff hydrographs. The chapter concludes with sections on reservoir operation studies and hydrologic models.

Chapter 3 presents a detailed discussion of hydraulic analysis. Approximately the first three-quarters of the chapter is devoted to open channel flow while the last part of the chapter discusses pipe flow and hydraulic models. Under open channel flow, the different types of flow are discussed in detail, along with the design of channels, weirs and spillways, and erosion and sediment transport.

Chapter 4 is on groundwater. The topics covered are typically of the types found in a groundwater chapter of a standard hydrology or water resources engineering textbook. Both steady state and transient groundwater flow are discussed in detail. The last part of the chapter covers contaminant transport and monitoring well installation.

Chapter 5 is on hydraulic designs. The first part of the chapter cover channel transitions, flood control, and erosion protection. There are also sections on the preliminary planning and investigations required for sighting and design of dams and reservoirs, spillways, and hydroelectric power.

The last two chapters are relatively brief but on topics not found in most standard water resources engineering textbooks. Chapter 6 is on economic analysis and Chapter 7 is on environmental issues and monitoring.

The book attempts to focus on fitting well-known theoretical equations to real-world conditions. All methods presented are for preliminary designs. Chapters 2 to 5 have many example problems solved to aid engineers in their understanding of the material. The book serves as good reference for any consulting engineers involved in water resources design and analysis.