This chapter provides an overview of trends documenting increasing pressures on groundwater resources. It examines the range of benefits obtained from groundwater, including the economic value derived from productive uses, the ecological value provided to groundwater-dependent ecosystems, and the option value the resource provides as a buffer against future water shortages. The chapter then reviews the distinctive features of groundwater and their relevance for allocation policy design.

This chapter sets out policy guidance for groundwater allocation. The guidance in this chapter should be used as a supplement to the OECD Health Check for Water Resources when assessing allocation arrangements of groundwater systems and in cases where surface and groundwater systems are managed conjunctively. The guidance in this chapter first reiterates some of the general principles that apply broadly to all allocation regimes, then describes how the specific features of groundwater can be considered.