This book, produced by the UK Groundwater Forum, provides basic information about groundwater and the UK groundwater industry, in an interesting and informal manner. Concise, authoritative and highly illustrated, it is intended for a wide audience. Its purpose is to improve the understanding of the importance of groundwater and related issues which affect us all.

The book is aimed at everyone, both within the UK and beyond, who needs to know about groundwater and who wishes to obtain a concise overview of this important natural resource. It should be of interest to politicians, administrators in local and national government, water industry engineers and regulators, farmers, industrialists, environmentalists and students (Key Stage 4 and above).

It has been compiled by Dr Dick Downing, a leading groundwater scientist, and draws on the expertise of contributors from all sections of the UK water industry. It describes how and where groundwater occurs; how it is used and how it is cared for. Its dual role of preserving the natural environment while providing an essential economic resource is explained. The need to protect and conserve both the quality and quantity of this most valuable natural asset is emphasised.

The book is published by the British Geological Survey in the popular Earthwise™ series. Copies can be purchased through the British Geological Survey’s on-line shop.

Much of the book is available to download from the UK Groundwater Forum web site as a series of PDFs. See the Groundwater in Depth section.

Illustrations from the book are available to download from the Forum’s web site for use in publications and presentations, so long as the appropriate wording is included on the image.