ABSTRACT:Contamination of supplies by a wide variety of pollutants has long presented water managers with difficult problems. In the last fifteen years the issue of groundwater contamination has received a great deal of attention. Most work has focused on the source side of the problem. Questions have included: where do pollutants come from, how widespread is the problem, and what are the effects of the contaminants on human health and the environment? Very little work, however, has yet been done on the response side of this issue. Are water managers aware of water pollution problems (actual or potential) and their magnitude, and how well prepared are they to deal with contamination situations if they should develop? This paper reports results from a study of such questions for the southern New Jersey area. The study was intended to assess both the methodological and substantive issues involved in an empirical investigation of response capability. In addition to reporting methodological findings, the paper concludes that, while problem awareness is relatively high, actual preparedness and response capabilities are strikingly low.
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