Groundwater is a critical, but unappreciated, resource for urban water supply. Prof Dr. Stephen Foster (GWP Senior Advisor) and Prof Dr. Kalanithy Vairavamoorthy (GWP Technical Committee Member) are the co-authors of the latest GWP perspectives paper entitled “Urban Groundwater – Policies and Institutions for Integrated Management”.
This perspectives paper offers an overview of the benefits of urban groundwater use, along with a discussion on some of the harmful and persistent problems that groundwater presents in urban development.
The authors press the case for groundwater use to be integrated in urban infrastructure planning and management, and as an essential component of integrated water resources management in an urban setting. The authors argue that this is not a simple task because of policy inertia regarding the groundwater exploitation, the widespread vacuum of institutional responsibility and accountability for groundwater in urban areas and their surroundings.
GWP occasionally publishes perspectives papers to contribute to discussions on important issues related to water and development. Responses to these papers are welcome and the feedback will contribute to future GWP Technical Committee publications on related issues.
The new paper is available to download in pdf or to order in printed copies, free of charge, via gwp@gwp.org.