With the recent turn towards a "first principles" approach embracing chemistry, microbiology, physical and bioprocess engineering, and mathematics and the increasing use of mathematical models for simulation by computers, young scientists and engineers entering the wastewater treatment profession, particularly those in developing countries without access to advanced level courses in wastewater treatment can quickly become overwhelmed. This text was compiled in order to address that problem. It assembles and integrates postgraduate course material of a dozen or so professors from research groups around the world working on wastewater treatment. Fourteen chapters cover the development of the field, microbial metabolism, wastewater characterization, organic matter removal, nitrogen removal, phosphorous removal, pathogen removal, aeration and mixing, toxicity, bulking sludge, final settling, membrane bio-reactors, modeling activated sludge processes, process control, anaerobic wastewater treatment, modeling biofilms, and biofilm reactors. IWA in the UK now publishes many reports formerly published by AWWA Research Foundation (Denver). Distributed in the US by BookMasters. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)