Review of Wastewater Collection System Modeling and Design by T. M. Walski, T. E. Barnard, E. Harold, L. B. Merrit, N. Walker, and B. E. WhitmanWastewater Collection System Modeling and DesignHaestad Methods0-9657580-9-5$195

Abstract

This is a comprehensive text of 605 pages on the modeling and the design of wastewater collection systems by a team of seven authors who have extensive experience on the subject. It is intended for designers, managers, and students. The presentation is didactic and well organized and attempts to link theory and practice. Each chapter has a number of solved and proposed problems. The latter problems are intended to reinforce student knowledge. The proposed problems can also be completed by professionals for continuing education credit. The illustrations are excellent, and 27 cartoons taken from The New Yorker magazine add a touch of humor. Chapter 1, the introduction, in addition to providing a general background and laying the groundwork for the book, also includes an excellent historical perspective. Chapters 2, 3, and 4 are concerned with the traditional hydraulics of wastewater collection systems. Chapter 2 emphasizes steady flow, Chapter 3 gives a good summary of unsteady flow, and Chapter 4 focuses on force main and pumps. Hydraulic fundamentals are very well treated. An attempt is made to promote the tractive force as an alternative approach to the traditional minimum velocity as a design method for self-cleansing sanitary sewers. This is a welcome initiative, which is based on a more physical process. As the British methodology Butler et al. 1993, and references therein is exceedingly cumbersome, the authors attempt to provide a simplified method. Unfortunately there are very few verified experimental data available, and the authors only rely on one data set. Chapter 5 presents an overview of the development and application of computer models for sewer systems. The sequence of tasks in the modeling process is presented: the definition of objectives; the development of alternatives; the definition of scale; the selection of software; the acquisition of physical, operational, and loading data; the building and calibration of the model, its sensitivity and validation; the running of the model; and the development of a problem solution. The following three chapters are concerned with obtaining some of the inputs for the models. Chapters 6 and 7 deal with the loadings, namely, the dry and wet weather flows. Chapter 6, on dry weather wastewater flows, provides important input data for the hydraulic design of new sanitary sewers. Perhaps more could have been said about the composition of dry weather flows