ABSTRACT

The highest priority for protection pertains to the recharge areas of wellfields in aquifers which constitute the only supply of water for large population groups, or sensitive environmental systems. Protection strategy, in the context discussed, addresses the means of preventing, or minimizing, the degradation of ground water from: existing contaminant sources, such as scrubber-sludge disposal areas; or potential contaminant sources that might arise as result of land development, or environmental "mistakes" in the future. Effective protection strategy is underway and in the long term this promises to be the most effective way of establishing and maintaining a clean environment. Overall, a large-scale cleanup of the environment calls for both a short-term and a long-term approach. In the short term the cleanup of sites showing existing contamination requires enforced regulations, new remediation techniques, and innovative technology. In the longer term, the real solution to environmental preservation lies in a firm commitment by every individual not to pollute in the first place.