Author

“‘Water is our most precious natural resource’ is a refrain expressed by many—from engineers and poets to politicians—yet humanity’s actions have too often belied those words. If we truly seek to ensure that the world has enough safe water in the future, then we must act more aggressively to preserve what we claim to hold dear.”
–Amy Vickers, Handbook of Water Use and Conservation

A prolific writer, Amy Vickers is the author of an award-winning book as well as several chapters and essays, legislation (federal, state, and municipal), and over 100 peer-reviewed papers and journal articles, conference presentations, and numerous other articles and op-eds. A partial listing of publications is provided here.

Books

    • Vickers, Amy. 2001. Handbook of Water Use and Conservation: Homes, Landscapes, Businesses, Industries, Farms (WaterPlow Press, Amherst, MA). Fourth printing: 2012. Book award winner–Benjamin Franklin Award (Professional/Technical). Starred rating–Library Journal (“…the definitive work on the topic.”)
      • Chinese translation of Handbook of Water Use and Conservation, published by China Architecture & Building Press (Beijing). Publication: 2015.

Book Chapters

“Efficiency or exploitation? Conservation or complacency? The choice is ours.”
–Amy Vickers, Water Voices from Around The World

      • Vickers, Amy. 2018. “Drought Mitigation: Water Conservation Tools for Short-term and Permanent Water Savings” chapter in Drought and Water Crises: Integrating Science, Management and Policy, Second Edition (Taylor & Francis/CRC Press, 2017), Edited by Donald A. Wilhite and Roger S. Pulwarty.
      • Vickers, Amy. 2010. Contributor, The Drinking Water Dictionary (American Water Works Association: Denver, CO, 2010).
      • Vickers, Amy. 2007. “Letter” contributor in Water Voices from Around The World (Water Voices, Inc.). Page 178. Book award winner–Most Likely to Save the Planet, Outstanding Book of the Year category.
      • Vickers, Amy. 2006. “Water Supply” section in New Book of Knowledge (Grolier/Scholastic, New York, NY). Pages 73-76.
      • Vickers, Amy. 2005. “Managing Demand: Water Conservation as a Drought Mitigation Tool,” chapter in Drought and Water Crises: Science, Technology, and Management Issues, edited by Donald A. Wilhite, PhD (CRC Press/Taylor & Francis Group: Boca Raton, FL). Pages 173-190.
      • Postel, Sandra and Amy Vickers. 2004. “Boosting Water Productivity” chapter in Worldwatch Institute, State of the World 2004 (New York: W.W. Norton). Pages 46-65.

    Papers and articles (partial list)

    “BY VOLUME, America’s biggest drinking problem isn’t alcohol: It’s lawn watering. Home lawn and landscape irrigation water demands average over 8 billion gallons daily, equivalent to 14 billion six-packs of beer.”
    –Amy Vickers, “Lawn Binge” op-ed, The Boston Globe

      • Vickers, Amy. “Responsive Drought Management: Lessons Learned and Looking Ahead,” Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the Connecticut Section AWWA/CWWA, Newport, RI, May 25, 2017.
      • Vickers, Amy. “Desalination vs. Conservation in Rockland County, NY: Surprise Findings.” Proceedings of the Annual WaterSmart Innovations Conference, Las Vegas, NV, October 5-7, 2016.
      • Kleinman, J., Rehley, M. and Vickers, A. “The Energy Angle on The Water-Energy Nexus For System Water Losses.” Proceedings of the Annual WaterSmart Innovations Conference, Las Vegas, NV, October 5-7, 2016.
      • Vickers, Amy. “Water Audits and Savings at Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts,” Proceedings of the Annual AWWA Sustainable Water Management Conference, Providence, March 9, 2016.
      • Vickers, Amy. “Forecast 2025: Water Wars by Weather Modification?” Proceedings of the Annual WaterSmart Innovations Conference, Las Vegas, NV, October 8, 2015.
      • Vickers, Amy. “Water Efficiency and Drought Management Practices: Comparison of National Perspectives and Local Experiences,” Proceedings of the Annual Water Conference–Agricultural & Urban Water Use: Drought Management Practices, Water Efficiency, and Energy, sponsored by Southern California Edison, Tulare, CA, November 5, 2014.
      • Vickers, Amy and David Bracciano. “Low-Volume Plumbing Fixtures Achieve Water Savings.” Opflow, a publication of the American Water Works Association, July 2014.
      • Purington, David and Amy Vickers. “Deerfield Academy’s Million Gallon Water Conservation Challenge.” Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the American Water Works Association, Boston, MA June 11, 2014.
      • Vickers, Amy L., Mary Wyatt Tiger, and Shadi Eskaf. “Mining Customer Data to Better Inform Utility Decision-Making.” Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the American Water Works Association, Denver, CO, June 13, 2013.
      • Jenicek, Elisabeth and Amy Vickers, “Water Conservation at a National Guard Training Base: Camp Atterbury, IN,” Proceedings of the Annual WaterSmart Innovations Conference, Las Vegas, NV, October 3, 2012.
      • Vickers, Amy. Slice ‘N Dice: Analytical Techniques For Customer Water Use Data To Evaluate Efficiencies And Identify Water Savings Potential,” Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the American Water Works Association, Dallas, TX, June 10, 2012.
      • Vickers, Amy. “Water Use and Water Quality” section in Standards for Organic Land Care: Practices for the Design and Maintenance of Ecological Landscapes, 5th Edition (Northeast Organic Farming Association of Connecticut, NOFA Organic Land Care Program). 2011.
      • Vickers, Amy. “What’s New in Saving Water at Commercial Facilities.” Nevada Professional Facility Managers Association, Las Vegas, NV, October 8, 2010.
      • Vickers, Amy and Carole R. Davis. “Dallas’s Process for Setting ICI Program Priorities and Goals,” Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the American Water Works Association, Chicago, IL, June 22, 2010.
      • Vickers, Amy. “Water and Energy Conservation at Military Facilities,” Fifth Workshop on Energy Efficient Technologies for Government Buildings, U.S.Army/Engineer Research and Development Center/IEA ECBCS Annex 46, Chicago, IL, January 28, 2009.
      • Vickers, Amy. “Water Efficiency or Water Conservation: What’s the Difference?” Proceedings of the Annual WaterSmart Innovations Conference, Las Vegas, NV, October 9, 2008.
      • Vickers, Amy. Op-ed: “Putting a cap on the bottled water industry,” The Boston Globe, July 7, 2008.
      • Vickers, Amy. Op-ed: “Lawn binge,” The Boston Globe, June 10, 2007.
      • Vickers, Amy. “Are Water Managers Becoming Lawn Irrigation Managers?” Journal of the American Water Works Association, February 2007.
      • Vickers, Amy. “The Water Quantity-Quality Connections: How the Anti-Lawn Chemical Movement May Boost Irrigation Water Savings,” Proceedings of the Water Sources Conference of the American Water Works Association, February 7, 2006.
      • Vickers, Amy. “Drought: Our Hidden Opportunity,” Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the American Water Works Association, San Francisco, CA, June 15, 2005.
      • Vickers, Amy. “Instream Flow Requirements vs. Water Supply Demands (The Trial of Waterbury Conn. Versus the Shepaug River),” Proceedings of Water Sources Conference: Reuse, Resources, Conservation, American Water Works Association, Las Vegas, Nev., January 27-30, 2002.
      • Vickers, Amy. “So You Think You’re Conserving Water?” Fine Homebuilding magazine (Taunton Press) Fall/Winter 2000, no. 135, pp. 6-8.
      • Flowers, John E. and Amy L. Vickers. “Impacts of Water Conservation Programs on Water & Wastewater Infrastructure Needs,” Proceedings of the Infrastructure Conference of the American Water Works Association, Baltimore, Maryland, March 14, 2000.
      • Smith, James and Amy Vickers. “Unaccounted-For Water: Costs and Benefits of Water Loss and Revenue Recovery in Four Vermont Municipal Water Systems,” Proceedings of Conserv99, American Water Works Association, Monterey, California, Jan.31- Feb.3, 1999.
      • Howarth, David and Amy Vickers. “Water Conservation in the United Kingdom – Why We Don’t Have Toilet Rebate Programs,” Proceedings of the American Water Works Association Annual Conference, Atlanta, Georgia, June 1997.
      • Vickers, Amy. “Legislation/Regulation: Implementing The Energy Policy Act,” Journal American Water Works Association, Vol. 88, No. 1 (January 1996): 18-20, 112.
      • Vickers, Amy. “The Greening of the White House CD-ROM: Water Interactive Exercise,” Proceedings of Conserv96, American Water Works Association, Orlando, Florida, January 4-8, 1996.
      • Vickers, Amy and Nancy Scott. “Residential Landscape Irrigation Characteristics and Conservation Program Needs in Johnson County, KS,“ Proceedings of Conserv96, Water Works Association, Orlando, Florida, January 4-8, 1996.
      • Vickers, Amy. “The Benefits and Costs of Water Demand Management,” Institution of Water and Environmental Management (IWEM), London, England, February 9, 1994.
      • Vickers, Amy. “The Energy Policy Act: Assessing Its Impacts on Utilities,” Journal American Water Works Association, Vol. 85, No. 8 (August 1993): 56-62.
      • Vickers, Amy. “Municipal Water Conservation: Designing A Program to Meet Your System’s Needs,” Proceedings of the First National Water Conservation Conference, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, February 4-6, 1993.
      • Vickers, Amy and Edward J Markus. “Creating Economic Incentives for Conservation,” Journal American Water Works Association, Vol. 84, No. 10 (October 1992): 42-45.
      • Vickers, Amy. “The Emerging Demand Side Era in Water Management,” Journal American Water Works Association, Vol. 83, No. 10 (October 1991): 38-43.
      • Vickers, Amy. “Potential Water Savings and Related Benefits from Proposed National Water Use Efficiency Standards for Plumbing Fixtures,” Proceedings of the 1989 American Water Works Annual Conference, Los Angeles, California, June 1989.
      • Vickers, Amy. “New Massachusetts Toilet Standard Sets Water Conservation Precedent”, Journal American Water Works Association, Vol. 81, No. 3 (March 1989): 48-51.