The main objective of the Latin American Workshop was to synthesize scientific and technical knowledge on ground water pollution and its prevention, emphasizing problems and conditions peculiar to Latin America. The format of the Workshop consisted of a series of lectures presented by invited ground water experts to an audience of close to 100 ground water professionals from Latin America. Round tables and panel discussions were held throughout the workshop to exchange ideas, questions and answers, and delineate strategies for cooperation between all attendees to the event. Ground water experts represented a wide cross-section of countries: Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, France, Germany, Israel, Italy. Mexico, Spain, United Kingdom, United States, and Venezuela. Latin American ground water practitioners from Costa Rica, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Venezuela participated in the ground water workshop. State-of-the-art principles of ground water monitoring and remediation, theoretical aspects of ground water flow and contaminant migration analysis, and case studies focusing on Latin America's most pressing ground water contaminant problems were reviewed in San Jose.