Book Reviews
Chapter 15 treats fall manholes, including both drop and vortex
Review of Wastewater Hydraulics: Theory
and Practice, 2nd Ed., by Willi H. Hager
Springer-Verlag, Berlin; 2010; ISBN 978-3-642-11382-6; 652 pp.
Oscar Castro-Orgaz, Ph.D.
Instituto de Agricultura Sostenible, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones
Científicas, Finca Alameda del Obispo, E-14080, Córdoba, Spain. E-mail:
oscarcastro@ias.csic.es
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by 41.235.112.62 on 03/24/18. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.
This book is the second edition of a successful book first published
in 1999. The material of this book originates from the German book
Abwasser-Hydraulik: Theorie und Praxis published in 1994 (Hager
1994). The book contains 20 chapters and appendixes.
Chapter 1 deals with continuity, momentum, and energy in fluid
flow. The Bernoulli equation, an application of the momentum the-
orem, and the Boussinesq equations are briefly reviewed. Chapter 2
presents head-loss computations, including local losses for various
geometrical configurations. Chapter 3 deals with the design of
sewers, including maximum and minimum discharge conditions.
Chapter 4 presents an introduction to sewage pumping and throt-
tling devices. Chapter 5 determines the normal flow depths in free
surface flows for the most important cross-sectional shapes used
in sewers. Computations are presented using analytical aids rather
than numerical solutions. Steeply sloping sewers and air-water
flows are included. Chapter 6 deals with critical flow. Its features
are introduced, and explicit flow formulas are developed to avoid
numerical solutions. The location of critical depth is generally dis-
cussed on the basis of the singular point method, and slope breaks
are described as a particular critical flow device. Chapter 7 is
devoted to the hydraulic jump. The main features of the classical
hydraulic jump in a horizontal channel, including the sequent
depths, energy dissipation, and roller length, are detailed. Circular
sections are also considered, including a new section with recent
developments on undular hydraulic jumps. The chapter further ex-
plores various outlet structures. Stilling basin design is considered,
including the classical U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) stilling
basin. Chapter 8 treats the equation of gradually varied flows. A
general discussion of free surface profile types is presented, and
a dimensionless solution of the gradually varied flow equation is
given for the circular, egg-shaped, horseshoe, and rectangular cross
sections. Chapter 9 deals with culverts and throttling pipes. Gen-
eralized flow diagrams for culvert design are included.
Chapter 10 treats overfalls. Flow features of sharp-crested,
broad-crested, and cylindrical-crested weirs are presented for free
and submerged flow conditions. Chapter 11 specifically focuses
on end overfalls for rectangular channels and circular pipes. Com-
putation of cavity flow, or the “Cola bubble,” is also included.
Chapter 12 relates to the Venturi flume. The discharge character-
istics are derived using the hydraulic approach and then generalized
by inclusion of streamline curvature effects. Both long- and short-
throated devices are discussed and design recommendations are
given. Chapter 13 deals with mobile discharge measurement by
using Venturi flumes. Specific devices are introduced for both
rectangular and circular channels on the basis of streamline curva-
ture theory developed in chapter 12.
Chapter 14 presents the standard manhole, discussing important
aspects such as choking conditions and pressurized manhole flow.
1308 / JOURNAL OF HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING © ASCE / OCTOBER 2011
J. Hydraul. Eng., 2011, 137(10): 1308-1308
manholes. Special manholes are treated in chapter 16 for both
sub- and supercritical approach flow conditions, including manhole
design. Chapter 17 presents the governing equations for spatially
varied open channel flows with decreasing discharge, along with
an application to distribution channels and channel bifurcations.
A general side-weir discharge equation is provided and included
in the model equations. Chapter 18 specifically focuses on the
sewer side weir. Its design is considered using the theory presented
in the previous chapter. Chapter 19 presents the side channel on the
basis of the governing flow equations for spatially varied open
channel flows with increasing discharge. Generalized dimension-
less free surface profiles are presented for both critical and singular
control points. Chapter 20 deals with bottom openings as a particu-
lar case of spatially varied flow with decreasing discharge. The
book also contains an interesting perspective on the history of
wastewater hydraulics.
The present book covers the main topics of wastewater hydraul-
ics and is thereby an interesting and updated treatise on the topic. It
is well organized, containing high-quality figures that illustrate the
proposed solution for each problem. Each chapter contains inform-
ative photos that depict the governing flow phenomena. This may
help instructors to get their students interested in a topic. A collec-
tion of worked examples is included in each chapter that is to be
welcomed by the reader for the understanding of a design method.
The huge set of references contained at the end of each chapter
helps the interested reader become acquainted with the fascinating
topics covered. The scientific book content is of interest not only to
engineers dealing with wastewater hydraulics, but also to those who
tackle general problems in open channel hydraulics. The book deals
with the hydraulics of several devices involving free surface flow,
such as weirs and flumes. Most of the approximations are analyti-
cal, thereby reducing the complexities of the flow phenomena to a
level tractable without numerical modeling. This will be acknowl-
edged by practitioners and also by researchers and teachers, who
clearly see the role of each main variable on the flow phenomena
investigated. I do miss an elementary appendix of introductory
character to numerical methods, which may yield an alternative
approach in several chapters, as the computation of backwater
curves or the modeling of streamline curvature effects using the
Boussinesq equations. The books cover in depth all the important
hydraulic problems of steady, free surface flows. The unsteady
flow simulation of sewer networks for rainfall-runoff processes
is explicitly stated to be out of topic coverage. For these specific
aspects, however, the works of the late professor Ben Chie Yen
(1935–2001) are available and may be used, e.g., Yen (1986).
In short, Hager’s book is a highly welcomed addition to the lit-
erature of wastewater hydraulics, presenting the current knowledge
on the topic. This book is strongly recommended to both practicing
hydraulic engineers and to students and researchers working not
only in wastewater hydraulics, but also in open channel flow.
References
Hager, W. H. (1994). Abwasser-Hydraulik: Theorie und Praxis, Springer
Verlag, Berlin.
Yen, B. C. (1986). “Hydraulics of sewers.” Adv. Hydrosci., 14, 1–122.