Threats from groundwater table rise in urban areas in developing countries

As developing countries experience rapid urban population growth, frequently aggravating chronic imbalances in the existing infrastructure and also outstripping limited resources, the rise of the groundwater table has become a serious point of concern. The lack of adequate sanitary sewerage has prompted increasingly widespread use of the unhygienic and inadequate cesspool system for waste water disposal. The exfiltration fr om these cesspools adds directly to the-groundwater table rise, as does the leakage from the water distribution network. In addition, the natural drainage system of wadis and channels that dispersed excess water from rain or flooding has been disturbed and has not been replaced by the construction of adequate drainage systems. The creeping groundwater table rise, besides hampering the proper functioning of the "cesspool" system, is causing detrimental social; environmental, health, and economic impacts. rn the absence of building proper sanitary sewerage and storm sewer systems,. in many countries beyond affordability, wide-ranging construction of certain specifically adapted drainage systems may provide an interim answer. To protect the natural drainage system on the fringes of cities, the expansion of urban areas should progress only in ways that do not cause further disturbance. Auspices for the construction of storm and sanitary sewerage systems might be improved by cost/benefit analyses measuring the extent to which the economic benefits of this option outweigh those of alternative ones.