Ground water planning should reflect a co-ordinated effort between agencies involved in all aspects of ground water. Full protection of ground water resources is rarely practicable, priorities must be carefully targeted. Water is a universal solvent. It is a common link among humanity. Water has no geographical boundary, and does not distinguish colour, creed, religion or race, so it is like universal ethics.
Ground water is used in irrigation, industry, domestic households and for maintaining livestock.
About 450 cubic km of waste water flow into rivers and streams every year, and about 6000 cubic km of clean water are needed to dilute this dirty water and clean it up enough to make it reusable. Those who suffer most from this scarcity are the world fs 1200 million poor people of whom nearly 800 million are still undernourished. For an efficient regulatory regime, perhaps we require ecological, and more specifically aquifer-based divisions. The question of rights, those of the landed and those of the landless, need to be addressed within this framework. There is a need to develop a universal bioethics regarding the abstraction of ground water.