Includes bibliographical references (pages 187-201) and index.

Part I. Dismantling the natural system -- The fur trade -- Nature's hydrologists -- The woods -- The voyage of rainfall -- A sea of grass -- Plowing the plains -- Part II. Engineering the waterways -- The water over the dam -- Mussels, gators, and the Corps -- Aqueducts and toilet bowls -- Down the drain, up the stack -- What sludge tells you. Examines how the "land cleans its own water," and discusses how humans have "randomly removed necessary components" and "simplified the system to the point where it can no longer do its job."