Private Groundwater Contamination and Integrated Risk Communication

Globally prevalent yet largely rural, private groundwater contamination constitutes a novel, categorically socio-ecological risk that affects well users in both socioeconomically developed and developing regions. Responsibility to undertake risk mitigation lies largely with wellowners, with risk communication thus integral to ensuring pristine groundwater quality in an era of accelerating supply degradation risk due to climate change. However, as groundwater contamination represents an inherently complex, dynamic risk, mere conveyance of risk information is insufficient due to a range of material and perceptual barriers. The current chapter provides a comprehensive examination of the manifold challenges facing both risk-communicators and wellusers and recommendations for future enhancement of private groundwater risk-communication interventions. Learning objective: Locally oriented, two-way communication emerges as fundamental to this sphere of risk communication and an antidote to the social polarization and knowledge and financial resources categorizing modern local governance in rural areas.