1. Fresh, Clean Water

3. Why is groundwater important?
Groundwater, makes up about 98 percent of all the usable fresh water on the planet, and it is about 60 times as plentiful as fresh water found in lakes and streams. Because groundwater is not visible (in most cases), it is often overlooked when considering all of the water on Earth, and yet, water beneath the land surface is a valuable resource.
Protecting it from contamination and carefully managing its use will ensure its future as an important part of ecosystems and human activity.

4. What is groundwater?
Groundwater is defined as water that is found beneath the water table under Earth’s surface.

5. How does it get below Earth’s surface?
Water in the ground travels through pores in soil and rock, in fractures, and through weathered areas of bedrock.
The ability of fluids to travel through the rock or soil is known as permeability.

6. Where is it stored?
Groundwater can be found in aquifers. An aquifer is a body of water-saturated sediment or rock in which water can move readily.

8. Water Table- the level below which the ground is saturated with water.

9. Water Table Near the Ocean

10. What happens to the water table as you get farther away from a large body of water?

11. How does a water well affect the water table?

12. Not all groundwater comes from the ocean. So, how does it get there?
Surface runoff is water, from rain, snowmelt, or other sources, that flows over the land surface, and is a major component of the water cycle. 

13. Runoff occurs in many areas
Parking lots
Cropland
Mountains
Rivers
Hills

14. Watershed
A land area which produces runoff draining to a common point is called a watershed.