Book excerpt: Principles of Water Quality presents the fundamental environmental processes that regulate the movement of materials in natural systems. This book is composed of 10 chapters that cover the chemical and microbiological processes that are operative on organic and inorganic constituents in water. This text deals first with water quality concepts, the development of criteria for water quality, and the determination of various contaminants' threshold levels that can be regulated by imposed standards. These topics are followed by descriptions of natural environmental processes, which include fundamental ecological principles and energy transfer in ecosystems resulting in species stability. The subsequent chapters are devoted to the organic and inorganic constituents that have become water quality problems, including toxic metals, inorganic nutrients, refractory organic compounds, and microorganisms. The discussion then shifts to the environmental impact of heated effluent discharges. The last three chapters focus on water quality modeling, standards, and management methods. These chapters also provide case studies using the phosphorus and the longitudinal dispersion models. This book is of value to advanced undergraduate or graduate students in environmental engineering and science, as well as in health-related disciplines.