By the 1980s, Malaysia had undergone a rapid transition from an agriculture dependent nation to a highly industrialized nation. Especially, this change was noticeable in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, and its vicinities, and resulted in remarkable water shortage due to the rapid increasing demand, together with deterioration of water quality.

Groundwater was considered as a possible alternative for water source to supplement this demand. However, uncontrolled use of ground water was leading to serious environmental problems such as land subsidence and saltwater filtration to the aquifer. The integrated groundwater resources and environmental management plan was formulated in order to attain sustainable groundwater use and to sustain a favorable groundwater quality in the basin. Simultaneously, a monitoring system and the geographic information system (GIS) as well as an institutional development plan were proposed for the implementation of the integrated management plan.