1858. 8vo, pp. [iv], 104, with three large folding engraved plates; text and plates all a little foxed with some marginal dust-soiling, and small dampstain on half-title and title-page; uncut, in the original blue printed wrappers, spine discretely repaired, slight wear at head and tail of spine, covers a little soiled and stained, extremities a little bumped and rubbed; a good copy. First edition of this noted technical work on flood prevention, by the influential French civil engineer and economist, Jules Dupuit (1804-1866). The work was written in the wake of the catastrophic floods in the Loire valley region in both 1846 and 1856, promoting a national rethink of France’s hydraulic defence strategy. ‘In 1846 Dupuit witnessed major flooding on the Loire River. This turned his attention, at least in part, to flood hydrology. At that time there was little appreciation for the basic processes and erroneous concepts were common. Dupuit applied continuity concepts to both refute errors and to support his recommendations. In 1858 he published a pamphlet (Dupuit, 1858) that addresses problems that we still face today. He noted that dams decrease flood peaks and increase the flood period. However, retention structures flood large amount of land with considerable consequences for the inhabitants. He noted that small upland structures have limited Water Resources and Environmental History influence on floods on large rivers, and may be inefficient during long storms, while sites for large reservoirs are difficult to locate. Conversely, he observed river levees are effective, but prone to damage. He noted that the damage created by levee breaks was a function of their height, thus he urged that the government control their construction. Finally, returning to his economic interests, he argued that those who profit should pay for the financing of any flood control works. Dupuit both handed out and received considerable criticism on the issues of flood hydrology. However, his writings largely anticipated all future discussions in the field and his conclusions have been proved generally valid’ (Brown, p. [3]). His general conclusions were: that ‘Dams like Pinay have only a limited influence on floods of large rivers such as the Loire; small reservoirs erected in mountains demand extraordinary design and costs, are inefficient for large floods, and may behave adversely when filled during a long storm period; River dikes have proved to be effective, although several were damaged during floods. Dams should thus be incorporated with dikes to result in a combined flood defense; the height of dikes is related to the damage produced under a breach. The government should control these works. The finances required should be collected from those who profit, with a system of assurances’ (https://www.history-of-hydrology.net/mediawiki/index.php/Dupuit,_Jules).