Resource information
Water-supply quality is too often taken
for granted. Because we can see rivers and streams, they
command most attention when talk turns to water quality but
subsurface aquifers are every bit as important as a source
of public water-supply and are also under threat of
pollution. Acting now to protect them makes sound economic
sense, because it is always cheaper to maintain the quality
of groundwater resources, and of individual water-supply
sources, than to mitigate the damage once done. But timely
action depends on awareness of the urgent need to protect
groundwater and to do this the authors must be able to
identify clearly the threats they face. Because it is
unrealistic to prohibit all potentially-polluting activities
and the economically sound approach is to identify what are
the most significant pollution threats, which parts of the
land surface are most vulnerable to pollution of underlying
groundwater and whether any such pollution will impact
existing public water-supply sources. Such a procedure,
which is described in this book, provides the direct focus
required on the protection measures necessary to conserve
the quality of any given groundwater supply source.
