ABSTRACT
Ensuring healthy and sustainable living conditions in intensively populated environments has emerged as a major global challenge. The provision of safe and sustainable water supplies for drinking and sanitation is central to this undertaking. Historically, the vital role groundwater plays in the urban water cycle has suffered serious neglect. To some extent this reflects an ‘out of sight, out of mind’ mentality, which has promoted ignorance of water movement in the subsurface. However, neglect has also arisen because groundwater and surface water systems are spatially distinct and, in terms of water flow velocities, operate on totally different time scales. Reasons aside, the unfortunate consequence is that tools for urban water management rarely, if ever, incorporate an adequate understanding of urban aquifers and the role of groundwater, either during the analysis stage or, just as importantly, during the subsequent decisionmaking process. These attitudes must change and time is of the essence. Holistic management of the entire urban water cycle is starting to be recognized worldwide as an important priority. In turn, practical, soundly developed urban water system modelling tools are essential if the goal of urban sustainability is ever to be achieved.
