What is groundwater?

Groundwater, which is in aquifers below the surface of the Earth, is one of the Nation's most important natural resources. Groundwater is the source of about 37 percent of the water that county and city water departments supply to households and businesses (public supply). It provides drinking water for more than 90 percent of the rural population who do not get their water delivered to them from...

Groundwater levels in wells can oscillate up and down when seismic waves pass. The water level might remain higher or lower for a period of time after the seismic waves end, but sometimes a long-term offset of groundwater levels follows an earthquake. The largest recorded earthquake-induced offset in a well is a one meter rise. Water quality can also be affected by earthquakes, typically in...

Water drawn from a well was once precipitation that fell onto Earth's surface. It seeped into the ground and, over time, occupied the porous space in some subsurface material. Big particles that are in surface streams, such as leaf chunks, will not be seen in groundwater. So, yes, big particles are filtered out by the ground, along with some minerals and chemicals that are too small to see...

Pesticide use in the United States has increased because not only must we supply our exploding population with food, but crops and food are also grown for export to other countries. The United States has become the largest producer of food products in the world, partly owing to our use of modern chemicals (pesticides) to control the insects, weeds, and other organisms that attack food crops. But...

Some counties offer free well water testing, so check with your county first. If they don't, use this EPA website to find a list of state-certified laboratories in your area that do water testing, or contact your county or state health department or your State Certification Officer for assistance. Prices will vary depending on the laboratory and the test(s), but most people consider the cost to be...

A well is said to have gone dry when water levels drop below a pump intake. This does not mean that a dry well will never have water in it again, as the water level may come back through time as recharge increases. The water level in a well depends on a number of things, such as the depth of the well, the type (confined or unconfined) of aquifer the well taps, the amount of pumping that occurs in...

Since 1950, the USGS has collected and analyzed water-use data for the United States and its Territories. That data is revised every 5 years. As of 2015, the United States uses 322 billion gallons of water per day (Bgal/day). The three largest water-use categories were irrigation (118 Bgal/day), thermoelectric power (133 Bgal/day), and public supply (39 Bgal/day), cumulatively accounting for 90...

Earth is estimated to hold about 1,386,000,000 cubic kilometers of water. The breakdown of where all that water resides is estimated as follows: Oceans (saline) 1,338,000,000 cubic kilometers Ice caps and glaciers (fresh) 24,064,000 cubic kilometers Groundwater (fresh and saline) 23,400,000 cubic kilometers Streams, lakes, swamps (fresh) 104,590 cubic kilometers Lakes (saline) 85,400 cubic...

The depth to the water table can change (rise or fall) depending on the time of year. During the late winter and spring when accumulated snow starts to melt and spring rainfall is plentiful, water on the surface infiltrates into the ground and the water table rises. When water-loving plants start to grow again in the spring and precipitation gives way to hot, dry summers, the water table falls...

This Ground Water Atlas of the United States is a series of USGS publications that describe the location, the extent, and the geologic and hydrologic characteristics of the important aquifers of the Nation. The series consists of 13 chapters that describe the regional groundwater resources that collectively cover 50 States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Learn more: Principal Aquifers...