What is groundwater?
Community Toolkit
Groundwater is the water we drink. It also grows our food and supplements our recreation. Groundwater is necessary to all life on Earth.
Groundwater is the water found in the spaces between soil particles and cracks in rocks underground – much like the way water saturates a sponge.
Groundwater, like all water on earth, is a finite resource. It is a part of the water cycle; therefore it comes from precipitation – rain and snow – which percolates through the soil until it reaches the zone of saturation.
Groundwater, though naturally clean and free from pollution, is vulnerable to contamination. Pollutants soak into groundwater from poorly constructed landfills, septic systems, runoff, dumping of household chemicals down the drain or pouring them on the ground.
We rely on groundwater, as the major source of our drinking water and for growing our food. Groundwater relies on us to Keep It Clean and ensure its availability for future generations.
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