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Water Always Wins: Thriving in an Age of Drought and Deluge
A hopeful journey around the world and across time, illuminating better ways to live with water.
Nearly every human endeavor on the planet was conceived and constructed with a relatively stable climate in mind. But as new climate disasters remind us every day, our world is not stable—and it is changing in ways that expose the deep dysfunction of our relationship with water. Increasingly severe and frequent floods and droughts inevitably spur calls for higher levees, bigger drains, and longer aqueducts. But as we grapple with extreme weather, a hard truth is our development, including concrete infrastructure designed to control water, is actually exacerbating our problems. Because sooner or later, water always wins.
In this quietly radical book, science journalist Erica Gies introduces us to innovators in what she calls the Slow Water movement who start by asking a revolutionary What does water want? Using close observation, historical research, and cutting-edge science, these experts in hydrology, restoration ecology, engineering, and urban planning are already transforming our relationship with water.
Modern civilizations tend to speed water away, erasing its slow phases on the land. Gies reminds us that water’s true nature is to flex with the rhythms of the the slow phases absorb floods, store water for droughts, and feed natural systems. Figuring out what water wants—and accommodating its desires within our human landscapes—is now a crucial survival strategy. By putting these new approaches to the test, innovators in the Slow Water movement are reshaping the future.
Nearly every human endeavor on the planet was conceived and constructed with a relatively stable climate in mind. But as new climate disasters remind us every day, our world is not stable—and it is changing in ways that expose the deep dysfunction of our relationship with water. Increasingly severe and frequent floods and droughts inevitably spur calls for higher levees, bigger drains, and longer aqueducts. But as we grapple with extreme weather, a hard truth is our development, including concrete infrastructure designed to control water, is actually exacerbating our problems. Because sooner or later, water always wins.
In this quietly radical book, science journalist Erica Gies introduces us to innovators in what she calls the Slow Water movement who start by asking a revolutionary What does water want? Using close observation, historical research, and cutting-edge science, these experts in hydrology, restoration ecology, engineering, and urban planning are already transforming our relationship with water.
Modern civilizations tend to speed water away, erasing its slow phases on the land. Gies reminds us that water’s true nature is to flex with the rhythms of the the slow phases absorb floods, store water for droughts, and feed natural systems. Figuring out what water wants—and accommodating its desires within our human landscapes—is now a crucial survival strategy. By putting these new approaches to the test, innovators in the Slow Water movement are reshaping the future.
344 pages, Hardcover
Published June 13, 2022
112 people are currently reading
1220 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
July 15, 2022
Deeply researched. Elegantly written. Filled with warnings. Filled with hope. Most important book of the year.
January 25, 2024
This book is a tour through the “slow water” movement and how people are relearning how to live with water using indigenous knowledge and new solutions. A very hopeful view of how we can rethink our relationship with water! Key takeaway: beavers are the sh*t!
February 19, 2023
loved this book and learned so much, it changed my life. listened on audiobook during many winter walks, ceramics sessions, and meal prep nights. loved the author's matter-of-fact tone and diversity in perspectives and groups, including a focus on local ecological knowledge throughout many countries. though the mountains of peru, the marshes of iraq (one of my favorite chapters), the coasts of san francisco, and the engineered wetlands of china, i felt like i was really there. the author articulates how capitalism got us here, who it's really hurting the most, and includes a brief exploration of the pros and cons of taking a market-based approach to water resource management. aquatic restoration is incredibly complex and this is captured in an incredibly nuanced way.
thank you erica gies for teaching me how to identify the sex of a beaver. this book has made me a proud citizen of beaver nation! i recommend this book for 1) anyone who consumes and/or loves water 2) those who hate water and 3) those who believe that humans can engineer their way out of anything and/or that capitalism is the answer. we should all just shut up and bow down to our beaver overlords. slow water 4eva!
thank you erica gies for teaching me how to identify the sex of a beaver. this book has made me a proud citizen of beaver nation! i recommend this book for 1) anyone who consumes and/or loves water 2) those who hate water and 3) those who believe that humans can engineer their way out of anything and/or that capitalism is the answer. we should all just shut up and bow down to our beaver overlords. slow water 4eva!
October 1, 2024
I live in California, so water is pretty much always lurking in my mind. This is in intriguing read. It is “dense” reading, so I’m very glad that my library did automatic renewals for me! The author does include amusing details about the assorted folks she talks to, but it did take me almost a month to finish it. I am now firmly convinced that Slow Water is essential for our planet.
June 8, 2023
A place I’ve worked doing habitat restoration was given a mention in this book and I had no idea of the history of the area or how the salt flats were managed and then converted so that was awesome. Excellent read, with any projects I take on I will be keeping what water wants in mind.
May 19, 2025
It’s like the more I read about science the more I don’t like people.
March 6, 2024
" [Recognizing] water rights, acknowledging it as a who, with agency, reverses the accepted hierarchy of humanity's domination over nature. As human beings on this planet, we are not superior to other beings. We are not superior to the water itself".
An incredibly insightful and important book.
An incredibly insightful and important book.
August 5, 2022
This is a really fascinating book about people studying and restoring water-based ecosystems around the world. I love that Gies explores the ways that capitalism and colonialism led to our current state of both climate and ecological breakdown, and how learning from ancestral and Indigenous wisdom about working with the natural world rather than trying to dominate it is necessary to keep ourselves safe in the era of climate change.
I learned so many interesting things about water systems and how humans, animals, and plants interact with them! One of my favorite chapters was about beavers, who are often considered a nuisance but are in fact ecosystems engineers whose actions can decrease the risk of floods, droughts, and wildfires.
I learned so many interesting things about water systems and how humans, animals, and plants interact with them! One of my favorite chapters was about beavers, who are often considered a nuisance but are in fact ecosystems engineers whose actions can decrease the risk of floods, droughts, and wildfires.
June 9, 2024
It’s no wonder to me now why Erica won the Rachel Carson Award for Excellence in Environmental Journalism award. This is a truly eye-opening, empowering, and (dare-I-say-it) hopeful look about hydrogeology and all the wonderful people around the globe doing truly amazing work in trying to stave off environmental catastrophes, ecological destruction, and a dire future for generations yet born by changing our relationships to water in far better and more dynamic ways, because as the IPCC keeps puling their hair out with louder and more forceful reports (https://www.ipcc.ch), humankind and all other life on Earth are facing serious hardships (fun fact: humans have doubled in population over the past 50 years why the average size of wild animals has declined by two-thirds, globally [Libby, p. 32]); as well, with expecting average global warming, the oceans could rise by eight whole feet (not “an eighth of a inch” as the former president and finally convicted felon believes, being the genius he feels he is), with two-fifths of humanity living within sixty miles of the world’s coastlines (p. 277). The repercussions are flagrantly obvious to anyone with half a brain. An average increase of +1.5 degrees Celsius is certain now, with +3 degrees Celsius quite plausible.
Gies highlights so many efforts, from Kenya to China to Vietnam to India to Iraq to Peru to England to California and beyond, where “water detectives” are tackling bold ideas, re-embracing ancient wisdom, and restoring environments back to the ways things were before mankind wrecked things with greed, futility, ignorance, and myopia. By Gies’s account, there are good reasons to be hopeful, but time will tell and this cynic doubts enough will be done quickly enough to make a true difference in our collective trajectory.
I spent a nice week in the sleepy community of Dillon Beach, California, and had the absolute pleasure of getting a 3-mile beach walk in each morning with my wife and our dog, collecting up all the plastic I could find left from the night’s high surf. I have a feeling such a thing will be my retirement plan, just within an organization or two geared towards helping over harming. I believe in the Gaia Hypothesis and will do what I can with the time I have left. This book is well worth the read.
Great Lakes Now, a great group hosted by Detroit PBS, interviewed Gies in May 2022 (https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05...).
Thank you, Public Library System, for having this title available. #FReadomFighters
For those living in US counties and states turning backwards into puritanical idiocracies, The Banned Book Club is here to toss you an app-lifeline (https://thepalaceproject.org/banned-b...). Spread the word. Knowledge is power against racism, against xenophobia, against ignorance, against fascism.
Gies highlights so many efforts, from Kenya to China to Vietnam to India to Iraq to Peru to England to California and beyond, where “water detectives” are tackling bold ideas, re-embracing ancient wisdom, and restoring environments back to the ways things were before mankind wrecked things with greed, futility, ignorance, and myopia. By Gies’s account, there are good reasons to be hopeful, but time will tell and this cynic doubts enough will be done quickly enough to make a true difference in our collective trajectory.
I spent a nice week in the sleepy community of Dillon Beach, California, and had the absolute pleasure of getting a 3-mile beach walk in each morning with my wife and our dog, collecting up all the plastic I could find left from the night’s high surf. I have a feeling such a thing will be my retirement plan, just within an organization or two geared towards helping over harming. I believe in the Gaia Hypothesis and will do what I can with the time I have left. This book is well worth the read.
Great Lakes Now, a great group hosted by Detroit PBS, interviewed Gies in May 2022 (https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2022/05...).
Thank you, Public Library System, for having this title available. #FReadomFighters
For those living in US counties and states turning backwards into puritanical idiocracies, The Banned Book Club is here to toss you an app-lifeline (https://thepalaceproject.org/banned-b...). Spread the word. Knowledge is power against racism, against xenophobia, against ignorance, against fascism.
March 29, 2023
I recently read this book describing how people around the world are using new management methods, often based on very old traditional knowledge, to reduce the impact of floods and droughts in many different countries and contexts. It is important information describing work in progress at a time of climate change and uncertainty about our future on the planet.
Gies, a journalist based in San Francisco and Victoria BC, introduces the concept of “Slow Water” – that making room for water to flood periodically reduces harm from floods and droughts. She explains how surface water is connected to underground water, and that when water is retained in permeable soil it replenishes groundwater aquifers. Slow water management methods are contrasted with dams and reservoirs that seem to promise unlimited water, but are likely to both encourage overuse and deplete groundwater. Levees that channel water to the sea result in loss of the protective value of marshes that regenerate and shield places like Louisiana from storm floods. It is preferable to develop an extensive network of smaller water retention areas that dissipate floods, replenish groundwater, and support a diverse ecology of plants, fish and animals. Drawing on visits to many sites and interactions with many researchers and managers and local residents, Gies describes how the “marsh Arabs” of Iraq have lived on water for thousands of years, how historic water knowledge is being reclaimed in southern India, the benefits of reintroducing beavers in England, how marshes are being reestablished in San Francisco to protect against rising oceans, and how ancient systems of capturing, channeling and recharging water resources in the mountains of Peru are being revived and expanded. Both the successes and limitations of each site or project are described. Gies emphasizes that solutions need to reflect unique circumstances, local and traditional knowledge. There’s a lot to absorb, but well worth the read.
Gies, a journalist based in San Francisco and Victoria BC, introduces the concept of “Slow Water” – that making room for water to flood periodically reduces harm from floods and droughts. She explains how surface water is connected to underground water, and that when water is retained in permeable soil it replenishes groundwater aquifers. Slow water management methods are contrasted with dams and reservoirs that seem to promise unlimited water, but are likely to both encourage overuse and deplete groundwater. Levees that channel water to the sea result in loss of the protective value of marshes that regenerate and shield places like Louisiana from storm floods. It is preferable to develop an extensive network of smaller water retention areas that dissipate floods, replenish groundwater, and support a diverse ecology of plants, fish and animals. Drawing on visits to many sites and interactions with many researchers and managers and local residents, Gies describes how the “marsh Arabs” of Iraq have lived on water for thousands of years, how historic water knowledge is being reclaimed in southern India, the benefits of reintroducing beavers in England, how marshes are being reestablished in San Francisco to protect against rising oceans, and how ancient systems of capturing, channeling and recharging water resources in the mountains of Peru are being revived and expanded. Both the successes and limitations of each site or project are described. Gies emphasizes that solutions need to reflect unique circumstances, local and traditional knowledge. There’s a lot to absorb, but well worth the read.
September 6, 2023
Erica Gies' overarching message is that our attempts to control water may have worked in the short term, but are breaking down with time and climate change. So many of our waterways are straight, concrete, and race to the ocean too quickly. The natural way of water is to spread out, soak in, and slowly make its way across the land. Gies is a proponent of the Slow Water movement, which takes into account what water "wants" and tries to work with that. This includes fewer levees and more marshlands, more open floodplains and less infrastructure, and incorporates plants and animals that help the water stay on land as long as possible. This is crucial to refilling our aquifers, keeping saltwater from percolating inland, and losing so much of our coastline. There will have to be some surrenders, as the fight to hold on to property at the edges becomes too costly. But we have to remember that water will always win, and try to work with it rather than conquer it.
Gies's book looks at water projects across the globe - China, Vietnam, India, Peru, various spots in the United States, and more - to see what is making a difference. Some of the details about these various schemes were more than I wanted to absorb (I did some skimming). I am not an engineer by any stretch, but for those with more background knowledge, I think this book would be even more interesting.
3.75 stars.
Gies's book looks at water projects across the globe - China, Vietnam, India, Peru, various spots in the United States, and more - to see what is making a difference. Some of the details about these various schemes were more than I wanted to absorb (I did some skimming). I am not an engineer by any stretch, but for those with more background knowledge, I think this book would be even more interesting.
3.75 stars.
April 8, 2025
Not quite revolutionary, but a very important book. I am not a scientist, more an amateur historian, but it was easy to understand how the ideas in this book can help solve water scarcity and flooding problems, as well as help us better understand our man-made drought and human caused global warming. Gies weaves an easy hypothesis filled with interesting stories from her going to and being on the field of study while many of these experiments took place.
This book provides globe spanning examples of how we got into our current situation and what we might be able to do to change it. Covering everywhere from the middle east, India, Peru, Africa and my own home in the pacific northwest, where my childhood home was built on a former wet land. It’s important on many levels, both for general interest in understanding how water finds its way, and for people responsible for making decisions about water usage and storage. Gies calls her concept, “slow water,” drawing on traditional knowledge and cutting edge solutions, she increasingly shows how restoring balance to our system by slowing water down on the landscape can return some of the lost resilience to our water system. Reintroducing beavers to Europe and North America, is a great example of a natural way of changing the environment back.
A strong example of good journalistic non-fiction writing, getting the information to the reader accurately and easily. If you live near any body of water, this book is for you.
This book provides globe spanning examples of how we got into our current situation and what we might be able to do to change it. Covering everywhere from the middle east, India, Peru, Africa and my own home in the pacific northwest, where my childhood home was built on a former wet land. It’s important on many levels, both for general interest in understanding how water finds its way, and for people responsible for making decisions about water usage and storage. Gies calls her concept, “slow water,” drawing on traditional knowledge and cutting edge solutions, she increasingly shows how restoring balance to our system by slowing water down on the landscape can return some of the lost resilience to our water system. Reintroducing beavers to Europe and North America, is a great example of a natural way of changing the environment back.
A strong example of good journalistic non-fiction writing, getting the information to the reader accurately and easily. If you live near any body of water, this book is for you.
August 17, 2022
Thoroughly well researched and with a worldwide reach. Flowing prose with waves of warnings on coming disasters and small ponds of hope.
Droughts and floods - the book traverses the globe: China, India, Kenya, Middle East, USA, Southeast Asia and Australia. Erica Gies writes about giving control back to nature (water specifically) in order to mitigate the looming global water crisis.
From ‘slow water’ projects, native reforestation, reopening old floodplains, sponge cities, re-growing mangroves and salt marshes to rethinking the big grey infrastructure projects (dams, seawalls, dikes) - this fascinating book is a must read.
Covers the Bay Area’a wetland restoration as well - the very trails I run on regularly are part of the largest restoration project in U.S history.
Erica’s article: https://www.nature.com/articles/d4158...
Here is a biographic article:
https://www.biographic.com/past-the-s...
Droughts and floods - the book traverses the globe: China, India, Kenya, Middle East, USA, Southeast Asia and Australia. Erica Gies writes about giving control back to nature (water specifically) in order to mitigate the looming global water crisis.
From ‘slow water’ projects, native reforestation, reopening old floodplains, sponge cities, re-growing mangroves and salt marshes to rethinking the big grey infrastructure projects (dams, seawalls, dikes) - this fascinating book is a must read.
Covers the Bay Area’a wetland restoration as well - the very trails I run on regularly are part of the largest restoration project in U.S history.
Erica’s article: https://www.nature.com/articles/d4158...
Here is a biographic article:
https://www.biographic.com/past-the-s...
January 15, 2024
Thoughtfully-researched and well-written. A wide array of examples from various geographies and cultures demonstrating the approaches taken to return to Slow Water, as Gies describes it.
I found the scenarios outlining relatively recent changes, and so there were people who had lived through them, particularly fascinating. They could say "it never flooded this often or this high" until any of "they cut down the forest/they filled in the marsh" (pick your poison).
So much changed on the landscape and hydrologically that led us to were we are today; changes are being made to give nature and water some of that space back. Now it's a race to see how much can be done and how effective as we deal with climate change. Slowly, a paradigm shift is happening.
I found the scenarios outlining relatively recent changes, and so there were people who had lived through them, particularly fascinating. They could say "it never flooded this often or this high" until any of "they cut down the forest/they filled in the marsh" (pick your poison).
So much changed on the landscape and hydrologically that led us to were we are today; changes are being made to give nature and water some of that space back. Now it's a race to see how much can be done and how effective as we deal with climate change. Slowly, a paradigm shift is happening.
April 4, 2024
Every so often you read a book and wish that you had been along for the ride in the research. This is such a book!
Erica Gies travels across the world meeting with a myriad of people who are entranced by water. She covers ancient and modern ways of looking at, understanding and storing water.
Water is one of the most important features of everyone's everyday life and does not get the thought and respect that it deserves. It determines everything from the food we eat to the landscape we live in.
This book is a look at the "Slow Water Movement" and discusses its importance in all our futures. A must read for anyone who cares about the destiny of live on earth.
Erica Gies travels across the world meeting with a myriad of people who are entranced by water. She covers ancient and modern ways of looking at, understanding and storing water.
Water is one of the most important features of everyone's everyday life and does not get the thought and respect that it deserves. It determines everything from the food we eat to the landscape we live in.
This book is a look at the "Slow Water Movement" and discusses its importance in all our futures. A must read for anyone who cares about the destiny of live on earth.
August 24, 2025
Deeply researched, engagingly written, and generally fascinating and fun to read. I loved the section on the beavers, on marshes, and on creative solutions of raising houses built in the flood plains. Also the planned resettlement projects were interesting to read about. I love how Gies combined both reporting the story and also put enough of herself into it to allow us to connect to these places and people closer. I also loved the way her personal story came out in the Californian parts of the book and in the conversation about goldmining and sediment, as well as in the planned resettlement story. So many great stories!
September 3, 2023
I really liked this book and it helped me to think about adaptation strategies and learning from other people's wisdom in new ways. There were certain repeated turns of phrase in this book that I had to get used to but once I did it was fine. I like how clear the author made it that when we are so separated from the things that sustain us we have no idea how to live using what is in our surroundings. I liked all the examples from around the world and the curiosity of the author which was very apparent in her interactions with people and animals.
September 22, 2023
How slow water saves the world
The book is very informative about how slow water provides a safer and more reliable presence than water controlled with concrete. It's interesting because it gives examples of slow water recovery projects in different parts of the world, along with solutions for flood zones.
Anyone with an interest in protecting the environment as well as human quality of life will appreciate it.
That being said, it is a long book with a lot of redundancies, so one need not read it all word for word.
The book is very informative about how slow water provides a safer and more reliable presence than water controlled with concrete. It's interesting because it gives examples of slow water recovery projects in different parts of the world, along with solutions for flood zones.
Anyone with an interest in protecting the environment as well as human quality of life will appreciate it.
That being said, it is a long book with a lot of redundancies, so one need not read it all word for word.
June 26, 2022
Such a well-written, engaging book on the emerging "Slow Water" movement! Erica Gies is that rare writer who can render complex scientific concepts (in this case, hydrology) into prose that is as compelling as it is comprehensible. This book is like the best textbook you were ever assigned, crossed with an intriguing detective story and seasoned with wit and poetry. The chapter on beavers alone (beavers!) was so engaging it has forever altered my perception of this humble rodent...
January 14, 2024
great distilling of hydrology, habitats, hydrosocio impacts and projects around the world focused on introducing new standards for urban development and construction that promote better harmony between civilization and the natural flows and stages of water.
i take issue with the blanket statements that global warming is to blame as i find the general consensus on climate factors deeply misguided, but the science presented on water flows and habitats was excellent.
i take issue with the blanket statements that global warming is to blame as i find the general consensus on climate factors deeply misguided, but the science presented on water flows and habitats was excellent.
January 26, 2024
I agree with other reviews, well-written and well-researched. And with just enough personal details to keep it entertaining and fun. Now I can't stop seeing and hearing about water controlled by man that is waiting to wreak havoc if we don't learn to let it do its thing. Just this morning I heard on the radio that a local river flooded, described as 'life threatening'. Slow water is the way to go, I hope we figure it out before it's too late.
August 8, 2024
An eye-opening journalistic account of how we try to manipulate water for our own benefit while neglecting the consequences. We slow it down, we speed it up, we dam it, we strip it of its nutrients, we build on floodplains, and then wonder why we suffer floods, drought, and water supply shortages. Water Always Wins is a warning that we need to let water be water, otherwise carbon emissions will be the least of our worries.
December 29, 2024
This is the first book in years I couldn't finish, despite trying 5 times over the course of the year. The thought process is disjointed at best, so that I quickly lost the point of the entire narrative. The grammar and sentence structure were poor - it is glaringly obvious that there was no editor. I would love to learn more about water reclamation and conservation from a well written source, but this was not it in any way, shape, or form.
September 9, 2025
This book is a comprehensive study on the issues of water that are impacting the world today, from alluvial fans to dams, from paleo-valleys to wild wetlands. The author provides real-world examples and how the 'Slow Water' movement is creating solutions.
If you want to understand these complex issues this is an easy read that covers impacts, investigations and expert analysis. I would love to see all politicians that make decisions on land use to read this book!
If you want to understand these complex issues this is an easy read that covers impacts, investigations and expert analysis. I would love to see all politicians that make decisions on land use to read this book!
December 6, 2025
A must read for everyone to have a more real view of how water is alive and needs to be understood. An eye opener on how ground water is used and how we can work with water instead of against it. As much as this was a little depressing knowing how climate change is worsening flooding and droughts knowing what can work and what is being done brings hope for the future. I definitely see myself getting involved with the slow water movement since reading this book.
July 27, 2022
Read this book, especially now.
It's intriguing and amazing how communities have found successful ways to implement water restoration projects in urban settings. Gies writes of diverse worldwide communities that succeed in restoring and protecting watersheds, rivers and wetlands. It’s basic; we all need water and we all need to protect our waters sources . It’s quite a wonderful book -
It's intriguing and amazing how communities have found successful ways to implement water restoration projects in urban settings. Gies writes of diverse worldwide communities that succeed in restoring and protecting watersheds, rivers and wetlands. It’s basic; we all need water and we all need to protect our waters sources . It’s quite a wonderful book -
November 2, 2022
This book is full of excellent information, gathered from scientific research, engineering studies and many people's practical experience. It would be a wonderful opportunity to educate the public about water, if it were not so full of overwrought "Oh Gosh! ecology" that it's positive message is diluted.
August 12, 2023
This book explains brilliantly the concept of "slow water": that natural water systems need time in order to remain healthy; the antithesis of the way we manage water to deliver as quickly as possible. This book gave me a profound "aha" moment that left me feeling as tough I understood the natural world just a little bit better.
September 17, 2023
Water knows what to do but we don’t let it! I saw the spring floods…the slow water spread out along the Poudre flood plain. My paths were submerged. A few weeks later the water had seeped down, the flowers were blooming, and the paths reappeared. The devastating, fast water, incidents this year are examples of the dangers of tamed water. This is an important read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews