While rivers make up just a fraction of the water on Earth, they provide
the majority of what we use every day. Rivers run over and through our
world, and sometimes we don't even know they are there. But do we fully
understand or even appreciate all that rivers can do? All over the
world, cities large and small were built near rivers because of what
they can provide: drinking water, transportation, power sources. But
over the centuries as cities grew, the rivers became polluted by sewage
and industrial waste, and their natural flow patterns were disrupted.
Disease and flooding were often the result. In a short-sighted attempt
to address these issues, city planners buried old rivers beneath city
streets. But this solution brought more problems. Finally, a group of
naturalists realized that freeing buried rivers could be the answer to
managing urban waterways. In rhyming text, the fascinating story of
"daylighting," unearthing and restoring buried rivers to their rightful
places as source of well-being and beauty, comes to life.