Earth Gauge Tip of the Week — Guard Your Groundwater

Reader Contribution by Earth Gauge
Published on March 11, 2013
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When rain falls, some of the water ends up in lakes and rivers, some is used by plants, some evaporates back into the atmosphere, and some seeps through the ground into aquifers — large, natural underground water storage areas. This groundwater provides more than 40 percent of the U.S. population with drinking water.  Not only does groundwater quench our thirst, but it is also important in protecting water quality and quantity in surface rivers and streams — during drier times, these waters are derived almost completely from groundwater supplies. In coastal areas, pumping too much water from aquifers can increase the amount of salt water entering groundwater supplies, sometimes making it undrinkable.

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