Watershed/Groundwater Notes

Note-taking FYI There are MANY new vocabulary words in these notes. Use a highlighter or draw a dark box around each vocabulary word to make them stand out in your notes. All vocab words are underlined in these notes and are accompanied by its definition. 13 total vocab words

Two “Types” of Water: Surface water- visible water ABOVE the surface Includes oceans, lakes, rivers, ponds Groundwater- water found UNDER the ground groundwater surface water

Both “types” are the exact same water; the only difference is the LOCATION at which it’s stored: under or above the surface. Surface water becomes groundwater when it soaks into the ground such as rain absorbing into the land. Groundwater becomes surface water when a well is used to bring it to the surface for drinking purposes.

Aquifer The site at which groundwater is stored. This area is made of rock (sand & clay), dirt, and other particles. Aquifer

Read Only Aquifer is a “fancy word” for the place where water exists underground.

There is a layer of impermeable (does not allow passage of liquids) rock below ground at the base of an aquifer which stops the flow of water. Water cannot pass through this impermeable layer Water starts collecting above the impermeable layer The water table shows how much groundwater exists

Most of the aquifer is made of permeable (allows passage of liquids) material. Depending on the material, there is varying levels of porosity (size of spaces between rock particles) Gravel is highly porous Clay is not very porous Cement is not at all porous permeable impermeable

Relationship between porosity and permeability Read Only Relationship between porosity and permeability Increasingly impermeable # of drops placed on surface # of drops soaked through surface

Read Only Humans can increase the amount of impermeable land areas by using concrete. The more roads and parking lots, the more flooding is likely to occur. This is due to there being less permeable surface area. Impermeable substance: cement Permeable substance: soil

Water table: the amount of existing groundwater. This is the boundary between saturated zone (soil full of water) and unsaturated zone (soil not full of water). If the water table reaches above the ground, then surface water is “created.”

Arrows pointing down contribute to recharge. The amount of groundwater is constantly changing depending on a variety of factors. The more precipitation, the higher the water table. Recharge = refilling of groundwater The more wells in an area, the more groundwater being removed which lowers the water table. Discharge = removal of groundwater This box is read only: Arrows pointing down contribute to recharge. Arrows points to the sides (which will be pulled up by the well) contribute to discharge.

Water table: Recharge and Discharge Read Only Water table: Recharge and Discharge Recharge -an area in which water moves downward into the zone of saturation of an aquifer; area that replenishes groundwater  Discharge-an area where groundwater moves toward the surface to escape as a spring, stream or from a well. For a water table to remain UNCHANGED, the rate of discharge (groundwater leaving) must EQUAL the rate of recharge (water soaking in as groundwater).

Watershed- an area of land where all of the water that is under it (groundwater) or drains off of it (surface water) goes into the same place usually collecting into a stream or river. Click HERE to view the Watershed video (it must be in slide show mode)

Read only We live in the Trinity River Watershed which means that our land area drains into small lakes that then drain into the Trinity River. The Trinity river then drains into Galveston Bay. It then drains into the Gulf of Mexico and eventually into the Atlantic Ocean.

Watershed Divide Read only watershed A watershed can be fed by groundwater such as a spring.

When an area is more highly populated, there is an increased likelihood of the water being contaminated. Pollutants such as pesticides, fertilizer, and leaking gas can leach (gradually soak into) the soil contaminating both the groundwater and the surface water.

Make sure you have highlighted the following 13 words: Surface water Groundwater Aquifer Impermeable Permeable Porosity Water table Saturated zone Unsaturated zone Recharge Discharge Watershed Leach

Assignment Write a summary using ALL 13 vocabulary words Underline the vocab. word in your summary when it is used. Incorporate the words’ definition when you use it You can choose the style of your writing: expository or personal narrative.