Water Novel Courts Young and Restless

Written to encourage young water quality professionals to embark upon a career of challenges and responsibility in utility management, the Water Environment Federation now offers the new book “Managing the Water & Wastewater Utility.”

Written by Roger J. Dolan, P.E., DEE; T. Duncan Rose; Robert A. Baker, P.E.; and Michael J. Barnes, P.E., the authors provide on-the-job experience, stress the importance of leadership and management skills, and offer the core understanding of the utility business.

The book was designed to help transform the specialist into a leader and may be an ideal textbook for the student or young professional studying to become a utility manager.

Readers of “Managing the Water & Wastewater Utility” can also gain a foundation of knowledge and an array of experience-based opinions in preparation for a successful management career.

Highlights of the book include leadership, especially interpersonal relationships and communication skills; budgeting and fiscal control; managing O&M; design and capital improvements; and the role of information technology.

Accordingly, WWD readers should understand what this book is not about. It is not a “how to do it book on pipe design, treatment processes, laboratory procedures, or any of the endless list of technologies covered so well by technical societies,” according to the authors. There also is not more than a cursory overview of the large and complex fields of laws, regulations, and government grant/loan procedures.

The authors have tried to present just enough information so that students new to the field can see the role and complexity of laws and regulations. The book is also focused on sound, competitive business practices, and is based on the expectation that the manager will obtain technical information through traditional sources.

For more information, visit www.wef.org.