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Getting to Grips with Groundwater Pollution Protection in Developing Countries *
Author(s) -
Foster S. S. D.
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
natural resources forum
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.646
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1477-8947
pISSN - 0165-0203
DOI - 10.1111/j.1477-8947.1986.tb00779.x
Subject(s) - aquifer , groundwater , water resource management , pollution , environmental science , vulnerability (computing) , pollutant , groundwater pollution , environmental planning , principal (computer security) , water supply , environmental engineering , environmental protection , computer science , engineering , ecology , chemistry , geotechnical engineering , computer security , organic chemistry , biology , operating system
Although groundwater is widely and increasingly exploited for potable water‐supply in developing countries the threat of groundwater pollution has, as yet, received little attention. Activities currently producing the principal risks are described in some detail. A basis for rapid assessment of the degree of groundwater pollution risk is proposed, based on the evaluation of, and the interaction between, pollutant loading and aquifer vulnerability. Protection zones around individual groundwater supply sources can generally play, at most, only a minor role in overall policy. The strategy proposed is aquifer‐oriented and activity‐related. The evaluation of aquifer pollution vulnerability, made in the rapid risk assessment and based on three semi‐independent criteria, could be used to select the required protection measures in relation to specific land‐use activities.