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The focus of this project is groundwater management in New Zealand. A review of the present situation found that institutional arrangements for management of groundwater are inadequate to deal with problems that are arising with the increasing use of this resource. This study developed an approach for future management of groundwater based on a set of criteria for evaluating management options. Equity, efficiency and community involvement are the criteria put forward. Evaluation of a number of options using the criteria indicated that social options, such as rationing, are more appropriate in some circumstances than technical solutions such as artificial recharge. Such a finding has important implications for groundwater management policy which currently favours technical solutions.