ABSTRACT
As populations and industry migrate toward sought-after coastal zone real estate, increased pressure on these fragile margins demands a realistic and comprehensive understanding of the underlying hydrogeological framework. One of the most threatened resources along these coastal corridors is groundwater, and coastal management agencies have developed complex strategies to protect these resources from overexploitation and contamination. Obvious consequences of coastal groundwater mismanagement may include accelerated saltwater intrusion into supply aquifers, inadequate groundwater supply versus demand, and infiltration of organic and inorganic contaminants into aquifers. Two examples of proactive management strategies in direct response to threatened coastal groundwater resources include the construction and maintenance of injection barrier wells [Johnson and Whitaker, this volume], and the construction of large-scale desalinization plants, such as in Tampa Bay, Florida [Beebe, 2000].
