Groundwater in Urban Development: Assessing Management Needs and Formulating Policy Strategies Book

This paper aims to raise the awareness among policymakers of hydrogeological processes in urban areas, to highlight key urban groundwater issues, to provide a framework for the systematic consideration of the groundwater dimension in urban management, and to suggest options for more sustainable management of groundwater resources in urban areas. Chapter 1 provides a brief introduction to the importance and behavior of groundwater in general terms, and to the close interdependence and interaction between urbanization and groundwater in many situations. Chapter 2 provides a considerable amount of technical detail to enable nonspecialists to appreciate the behavior of groundwater systems in urban areas. Chapter 3 presents three different and conflicting perspectives on the subsurface environment in cities--water supply provision and regulation; wastewater and solid waste disposal; and engineering infrastructure development and maintenance. It illustrates such conflicts using specific examples from around the world. Chapter 4 reviews the requirements in terms of an appropriate institutional framework, recognizing that the implementation of sustainable policies for allocating and protecting groundwater resources will often require building public awareness and promoting stakeholder dialogues.