Groundwater Allocation: Managing Growing Pressures on Quantity and Quality

Groundwater allocation determines who is able to use groundwater resources, how, when and where. It directly affects the value (economic, ecological, socio-cultural) that individuals and society obtain from groundwater, today and in the future. Building on the 2015 OECD publication Water Resources Allocation: Sharing Risks and Opportunities, this report focuses on groundwater and how its allocation can be improved in terms of economic efficiency, environmental effectiveness and social equity. Drawing on an analysis of groundwater’s distinctive features and nine case studies of groundwater allocation in a range of countries, the report provides practical policy guidance for groundwater allocation in the form of a "health check". This health check can be used to assess the performance of current arrangements and manage the transition towards improved allocation.

Foreword; Acronyms; Executive summary; Key information and guidance for groundwater policy:

Overview of groundwater resources and prevailing trends; The OECD health check for water resources allocation: Groundwater guidance; Case studies of groundwater allocation in practice: Overview of case studies; A comprehensive allocation regime in Denmark; Managing scarce groundwater resources to ensure long-term supply in Tucson, Arizona;  Payments for groundwater recharge to ensure groundwater supply in Kumamoto, Japan;  Enforcement challenges and efforts to implement environmental flow requirements in Mexico;  Enforcement and budget challenges for groundwater reallocation in the Upper Guadiana Basin, Spain; Long term abstraction limits to conserve groundwater in Texas; The collective management approach for irrigation in France;  

Co-managing electricity and groundwater allocation in Gujarat, India; Flexibility in allocation through informal water trading in North China.