This research examines the concept of environmental protection in relation to the prevention of groundwater pollution. While a variety of approaches have been proposed to protect the purity of groundwater, all of these approaches may be grouped into market solutions and non-market solutions. In this research, examples of both market and non-market solutions are examined.
The three primary origins of groundwater contamination are (1) urban living, (2) industrial operations, and (3) agricultural activities. Urban living creates groundwater contamination primarily through the use of water as a medium for carrying sewage effluent and the subsequent return of the water to the supply pool. Urban living also creates groundwater contamination through automobile and household lawn wastes carried to the supply pool through surface runoff.
Industrial operations create groundwater contamination through the discharge of contaminants and wastes from industrial processes, and through the use of water as a part of industrial processes. In the former case, contamination occurs through the addition of harmful substances to groundwater (such as chemicals suspended in tailings from mining operations), while, in the latter case, contamination may occur through either the addition of harmful substances to groundwater, or thermal pollution. Industrial processes may contaminate ground water by discharging contaminants directly into the ground, wherein they will reach
Agricultural activities create groundwater contamination in two major ways--fertilizer and pesticide runoff, and salt pollution (Environmental Protection Agency, 1986, p. 14). Salt pollution results from the intensive use of fresh water for irrigation.
The typical approach to the protection of groundwater purity in the United States is through non-market activities by government. Several economists, however, suggest that market appro...