A good knowledge of the natural and cultural heritage of karst is a precondition for the rational planning of life on it. We try to organize the knowledge to make it as useful as possible for planners. We are involved in individual projects related to the regional planning, water supply systems, the construction of transportation infrastructure, the closure of landfills in karst areas, the collection of data on karst caves and their protection, karst ecology and determining the extent of human influence on the karst underground. A new book series Karstology and development challenges on karst was designed to present the results of completed and new projects to a broader public.The first book with the subtitle Water contains selected directly applicable research studies on karst waters, their characteristics, endangerment, and protection. It is composed of ten chapters, which can be grouped into three main themes. In the introduction the importance, characteristics and vulnerability of karst aquifers are presented,then various case studies of pollution and endangerment are described (traffic, landfills, military objects, flooding), and at the end some guidelines for the protection of karst water sources are summarized. The book is a bilingual publication in Slovene and English. It is aimed at a broad circle of users, researchers, students and planners.Dobro poznavanje naravne in kulturne dediščine krasa je pogoj za smiselno načrtovanje življenja na njem. Pridobljeno temeljno znanje skušamo krasoslovci urediti tako, da je kar čimbolj uporabno tudi načrtovalcem. Vključeni smo v posamezne projekte regionalnega načrtovanja, oskrbe z vodo, gradnje prometnic, zapiranja odlagališč na krasu, zbiranja podatkov o kraških jamah in njihovega varovanja, kraške ekologije in ugotavljanja človekovega vpliva na kras. Za predstavitev svežih izsledkov širši javnosti smo oblikovali serijo Krasoslovje v razvojnih izzivih na krasu. V prvi knjigi s podnaslovom Voda smo združili izbrane neposredno uporabne študije o kraških vodah, njihovih značilnostih, ogroženosti in varovanju. Sestavljena je iz desetih poglavij, ki jih lahko razdelimo v tri sklope. V uvodu so predstavljeni pomen, značilnosti in ranljivost kraških vodonosnikov, sledijo različni primeri ogroženosti kraških vod (prometnice, odlagališča odpadkov, vojaški objekti, poplave), na koncu pa je zbranih še nekaj smernic za varovanje kraških vodnih virov.