Ground Water Quality Protection

Groundwater is an essential natural resource for the economic and secure provision of drinking water supplies. Pollution hazard assessment is an essential part of environmental best practice for water supply utilities, both in terms of protecting groundwater quality from future pollution and mitigating threats posed by existing activities. This book looks at the need for groundwater protection strategies, and provides a technical guide to methodological approaches including: mapping aquifer pollution vulnerability; the delineation of groundwater supply protection areas; developing an inventory of subsurface contaminant load; and the assessment and control of groundwater pollution hazards. The guide is particularly relevant for the Latin American and Caribbean region where many cities are highly dependent upon groundwater resources.

This new book provides a sound summary of the rapidly expanding body of knowledge on ground water pollution sources, evaluation and control. It is used to plan and implement ground water quality management programs, and also may be used as a text. The first three (introductory) chapters are about ground water quality, its importance, its management, and information sources.

This publication provides a structured approach to analyzing hazards to groundwater quality, assessing the risk they may cause for a specific supply, setting priorities in addressing these, and developing management strategies for their control. This book summarizes which pathogens and chemicals are relevant to human health, how they are transported, reduced, removed or retarded; provides practical guidance on characterizing the drinking-water catchment area and assessing potential health hazards; provides guidance on prioritising both hazards and management responses; presents key information on potential management actions and explains their integration into a comprehensive Water Safety Plan from catchment to consumer; and describes policy, land-use planning and implementation of pollution prevention, groundwater, with overviews of specific management approaches applicable to agriculture, sanitation, industry, mining, military sites, waste disposal and traffic.--Publisher's description.