Knjiga je rezultat skupnega dela in dolgoletnega medsebojnega sodelovanja raziskovalcev iz Slovenije in Hrvaške. Nastala je v sklopu čezmejnega projekta ŽIVO! Življenje - voda! (IPA CBC SI-HR 2007-2013), kjer so sodelovali tako avtorji iz inštitucij projektnih partnerjev kot vabljeni avtorji, ki poznajo značilnosti kraškega območja severne Istre in tamkajšnje razmere pri oskrbi s pitno vodo. V monografiji so predstavljene naravne danosti severne Istre, kras in kraški pojavi, kraška hidrogeologija, ekologija in mikrobiologija, posebej pa je izpostavljena ranljivost krasa na različne človekove dejavnosti. Glavna pozornost je posvečena kraškim vodnim virom. Pri oceni njihovih značilnosti smo uporabili razpoložljiva spoznanja o kraških vodah z obeh strani meje in jih dopolnili z novimi raziskavami obravnavanega čezmejnega prostora, ki so temeljile na terenskih meritvah in vzorčenju ter kemijskih, mikrobioloških in bioloških analizah vode. Zbrani izsledki so osnova za načrtovanje bolj učinkovite zaščite vodnih virov in posledično za izboljšanje njihove kakovosti.The book is the result of joint work and many years of mutual cooperation between researchers from Slovenia and Croatia. It was made as part of the transboundary project ŽIVO! Življenje - voda! (Life - Water!) (IPA CBC SI-HR 2007-2013), which involved the participation of authors from project partner institutions as well as invited authors who are familiar with the characteristics of the karst area of Northern Istria and the conditions there relating to drinking water supply. The monograph presents the natural features of Northern Istria, the karst and karst phenomena, karst hydrogeology, ecology and microbiology, and highlights in particular the vulnerability of the karst to various human activities. The main focus of attention is on karst water sources. In assessing their characteristics we used available knowledge of karst water on both sides of the border and supplemented it with new research on the transboundary area in question, which was based on field measurements and sampling, and chemical, microbiological and biological analysis of water. The collected findings form the basis for planning more effective monitoring of the quality of karst water sources, their protection and consequently the improvement of their quality.