Water Related Books
Every Last Drop – Craig Madden and Amy Carmichael – Random House (AUS) 2007 ISBN 978 1 74166 888 9 – A detailed book on the theory and practice of saving water with a main focus on the home but some discussion around the bigger picture such as agriculture, desalination and water politics as well as a section on resources.
Waterwise Gardening – Kevin Walsh – Reed New Holland (AUS) 2004 ISBN 187706901 9 – Lots of good info, he covers waterwise design, mulch, the pros and cons of different watering systems as well there is an extensive section on drought tolerant plants although most of them tend to be ornamental rather than productive. There is also a good section on soils. The book strikes a good balance between theory and practice.
Water – Not Down the Drain – Stuart McQuire – Alternative Technology Association (AUS) 2008 ISBN 978 0 9578895 6 9 – This one is probably THE water book to have. Not all the material in it is aimed at the urban/suburban householder but has stacks of good information. It covers why and the how of saving water, how to work out how much water you have available from various sources and then goes into detail about rainwater, greywater and the toilet and waste water treatment. Well worth having in your library!
The Water Efficient Garden – John Archer, Jeffrey Hodges and Bob LeHunt – Random House (AUS) 1993 ISBN 0 09 182569 5 – Don’t let the maple leaf on the cover fool you, this is an Aussie book! It is a great book, particularly if you want to design an urban watering system, although the book does start off with the basics about soil, plants and what makes a water efficient garden. There is also good data on setting up a system for productive plants rather than just straight ornamentals.
Waterwise House and Garden – Alan Windust – Landlinks Press (AUS) 2003 ISBN 0 643 06800 7 – There is a good emphasis on planning with this book, and detail on waterwise options and strategies that can be adopted to improve water efficiency, both inside the house as well as outside in the garden. There is also a good section on what to do during a drought. The section on selection of drought tolerant plants does focus on ornamental species.
The Earth Garden Water Book – Alan T. Gray (Ed.) – Earth Garden Books (AUS) 2004 ISBN 0 9586397 2 8 – This is a series of articles about water harvesting, usage and conservation from the pages of Earth Garden Magazine. Some of the subjects discussed in these articles are of more use to those with a bit of land or in a rural area but there is still much of value in this book for the urban/suburban dweller. The articles in the book are arranged around collecting, purifying, conserving and re-using/recycling water and there is an excellent section on water saving tips as well as a chapter on water saving suburbs showing how others in the city have done it.
Drip Irrigation – For Every Landscape and All Climates – Robert Kourik – Metamorphic Press (US) 1992 ISBN 0 9615848 2 3 – There is not a lot of books around on drip irrigation and this is a good one. While this is primarily suited to the suburban dweller, irrigating trees, shrubs and veggie patches there is also a chapter on irrigating containers which would be of value to the urban grower. It is quite a technical book covering the how and why of drip irrigation in some considerable detail.
A number of the above books contain information on the treatment, recycling and reuse of greywater and blackwater but the book listed below deal with the issues more fully, particularly in terms of the processing and use of human waste.
The Humanure Handbook – Joseph Jenkins – Chelsea Green Publishing (US) 2005 ISBN 978 0 9644258 3 5 – If you want to know about how to treat and use your human waste on site, this is the book for you. It is readable, not overly technical and very comprehensive. It is also available as an e-book, check out our links area.
Goodbye to the Flush Toilet - Carol Hupping Stoner (ed) – Rodale Press (US) 1977 – ISBN 0 87857 192 2 – lots of good stuff here, a lot of which is aimed at people with some land but if you have a bit of land (and a good cover story for the neighbours) the detail on DIY systems is good.
The Toilet Papers – Sim Van Der Ryn – Capra Press (US) 1980 ISBN 0 88496 121 4 – This one is all about urban/suburban human waste disposal, with interesting detail on historical systems and a number of designs for DIY waste disposal systems. The solutions are a bit more technical than the elegant simplicity in Jenkins’ book (above) but there are some really good ideas here.