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Groundwater Information by Topic Completed

By Water Science School October 9, 2018

Groundwater Information by Topic

Groundwater Photo Gallery

Learn about groundwater through pictures

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Groundwater Q&A

Your questions answered

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Groundwater Data for the Nation

The USGS National Water Information System (NWIS) contains extensive water data for the nation.

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Water Science Teacher's Resources

Activities, diagrams, quizzes, we've got it all

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Groundwater is one of our most valuable resources—even though you probably never see it or even realize it is there. There is water somewhere beneath your feet no matter where on Earth you live. Groundwater starts as precipitation, just as surface water does, and once water penetrates the ground, it continues moving, sometimes quickly and sometimes very slowly. Eventually groundwater emerges back to the surface and continues to participate in the global water cycle.

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Learn About Groundwater

Drawing of kids using a hand-pump well to fill a canteen.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.
The Magic of GroundwaterThese kids probably think there is some kind of magic happening here ... they pull down a lever and out of the ground below their feet comes clear, cool freshwater. They (and maybe you) may not realize that there is an immense amount of water in aquifers below the earth's surface. In fact, there is a over a thousand times more water in the ground than is in all the world's rivers and lakes.

Groundwater Basics

Humans and Groundwater

Groundwater Quality

Groundwater and the Water Cycle

Activity Center and Resources

 

Below are publications associated with groundwater.

A primer on ground water

Most of us don't have to look for water. We grew up either in big cities where there was a public water supply, or in small towns or on farms where the water came from wells. But there are some people to whom finding a new supply of water is vitally important.
Authors
Helene L. Baldwin, C. L. McGuinness

Ground water: the hidden resource

Ground water is water underground in saturated zones beneath the land surface. Contrary to popular belief, ground water does not form underground "rivers." It fills the pores and fractures in underground materials such as sand, gravel, and other rock. If ground water flows from rock materials or can be removed by pumping from the saturated rock materials In useful amounts, the rock materials are c
Authors
Stephen Vandas, Frank Farrar
By
Water Resources Mission Area

Ground water and the rural homeowner

As the salesmen sang in the musical The Music Man, "You gotta know the territory." This saying is also true when planning to buy or build a house. Learn as much as possible about the land, the water supply, and the septic system of the house before buying or building. Do not just look at the construction aspects or the beauty of the home and surroundings. Be sure to consider the environmental cond
Authors
Roger M. Waller
By
Water Resources Mission Area

Water resources professional's outreach notebook; ground water, grade level 6-8

Authors
S.J. Vandas

USGS data and tools related to groundwater: