Groundwater in Urban Development. Assessing Management Needs and Formulating Policy Strategies

Groudwater is of major importance in providing mains water supply, and is intensively exploited for private, domestic, and industrial use in many urban centers of the developing world. At the same time, the subsurface has come to serve as the receptor for much urban and industrial wastewater and for solid waste disposal. There are increasingly widespread indications of degradation in teh quality and quantity of groundwater, either serious or incipient, caused by excessive exploitation and/or inadequate pollution control.