Description

Readers of this journal are well aware of the challenges of managing one of our planet’s most critical natural resources: water. We professionals, the people we serve, and indeed the entire world’s population, depend on this resource, not only to stay alive and maintain our health and productivity, but also to sustain our economies, the quality of our environment and the biodiversity of our natural ecosystems. The quantity and quality of water that we manage as well as the goals we are trying to achieve while managing this resource changes and the extent of those changes is often unpredictable. Managing water is both complicated and complex and to do it requires us to constantly acquire, evaluate, and apply the latest engineering and scientific knowledge, as applicable. It also requires our ability to understand and work within a social and political environment in which water resource management decisions, whether at local, regional, or global scales, are made.