Ground Water On Earth example essay topic

Ground water! What is it? Well it's basically self-explanatory and is any water that is held under ground. That is only a very simple definition of it though and well in fact ground water is very critical to every ones life locally and worldwide. Most of the water that you drink comes from ground water and not from lakes and rivers even though those are considered as a part of ground water components.

Ground water has many components that it can be divided into and this paper will explain what ground water is, that negatives and positives of it, where is it and how it gets there. I will also explain how it affects people locally and worldwide. Like I said ground water is any water under the ground. Water is in almost everything on this earth and approximately 70% of this earth is covered with water on it's surface. Ground water locations can take on may forms such as in caves to lakes.

Sure it is very easy to understand the significance of water from rivers lakes streams and oceans. But how much do you know about all of the water that exists below the surface of our earth. I'm sure that you think that groundwater is kind of like an underground river or lake. If you do your somewhat right but that not just quit it. Only in caves or near lava flow does the underground rivers and lakes occur. Instead ground water is usually held within pours of soil or rock material.

An good example to show how the water is held is to fill a sponge with water that is kind of the way that ground water is held in these underground materials. Groundwater is very beneficial to human life for several reasons. First, humans withdraw at about 40% of the public water supply on earth for everyday uses. Of that 40% that is withdrawn for everyday use 22% of it is fresh water that is sanitary enough to drink.

One of those uses is very helpful for farmers and their irrigation systems to make crops, to help mankind be fed each and every day. In fact 34% of ground water is used to help irrigation on farms so farmers can grow their crops. Where do you think that water comes from your local home faucet? Well odds are it's from ground water because 53% of the American population's drinking water comes from groundwater. Also in America 97% of all drinking water is for the rural population. A definite negative that corresponds with groundwater though is that well since 70% of the world is covered with water only 3% of all that water is fresh.

On top of that three percent 2/3 of that water is frozen in the poles either as ice caps, glaciers, or icebergs. So that means that basically only 1% of all that worlds water is clean enough to drink. The remaining fresh water is either surface water (lakes and rivers) or groundwater. Out of these, 2/3 of this freshwater is ground water. So now you can probably see how crucial ground water is when it comes to supporting life on this earth. These are only a few facts of the positives and negatives of groundwater.

Groundwater is pretty much everywhere except desserts but even in some desserts groundwater exists. But basically ground water is formed any where precipitation is. As you probably know by know when rain falls it doesn't really stop moving because all water evaporates right? Not all water evaporates.

When it rains the water has several options on where it goes. The water can flow along the surface in to streams and lakes or any surface water. Some water may be used for plants for photosynthesis, or the water can evaporate and return to the atmosphere but some of it sinks in to the ground to become groundwater. Groundwater enters though spaces in the soil, sand and rocks. When these spaces are filled with water it is called the saturated zone or the very top layer of groundwater. Basically this only when a space is filled with more water than any other material.

The top of this saturation zone is called the water table, a water table may start anywhere from a minimum of a foot below the ground but it may also start hundreds of feet below the earth's surface. Many factors contribute to where the water level starts. For example heavy rains can cause the water table to rise and expand or a long period of dryness may lower the starting point of the water table. The second and final layer of groundwater is called an aquifer. Groundwater moves extremely slow though soil, sand, and rocks when the water travels though these materials they are stored in a aquifer. A aquifer is where groundwater is stored.

There are several ways to withdraw water from the ground. Here in America the most common way would be to use a water tower. A basic process of what a water tower does is that it pumps up water from a aquifer and as it is being pumped up the water tower is filtered. From there, the force of gravity sends water through popes to surrounding hoses or what ever may need water. Another way is to use a basic well. Even though this method isn't used as much, It is still used in all places of the world.

The well method is used in both deserts and in tropical areas. But right here in Naperville Illinois most of the water comes from groundwater but not all of it. Some approximately 30%comes from Lake Michigan. Here in Illinois there are over 1,100 aquifers bet because of things like pollution, contaminated water and salt water only about 200 of the are fresh water. But thanks to filtration technology about 900 can be made into drinkable water. In America there are thousand of drinkable aquifers but many of them are becoming contaminated or are just simply being used to fast to where the aquifers can't be refilled.

Sure It is easy to dispose of waste by dumping it into a river or lake. In large or small amounts, dumped intentionally or accidentally, it may be carried away by the current, but will never disappear. It will reappear downstream, sometimes in changed form, or just diluted. Freshwater bodies have a great ability to break down some waste materials, but not in the quantities thrown out by today's society. This overload that results in pollution, eventually puts the ecosystem out of balance. Out of all the ground water on earth, humans contribute to both curing and destroying ground water.

The biggest problem about ground water is the fact that it is being destroyed by humans every day that's mainly from industries that throw there waste products out very carelessly. In fact 90% of the groundwater is polluted or contaminated by coal or oil industries. These industries hurt groundwater in more than just one way of dumping there wastes out. They also end up wreaking groundwater from burning coal, oil and other materials. From doing this, the smog causes acid rain which will eventually wren plants, river, lakes and groundwater. Eventually that rain leaks into aquifers and contaminates it possibly causing death.

So as you can see groundwater is ver important to every person because if several reason. It provides most of what fresh water we have left on this earth. It also helps farmers, which also help every thing live. Hopefully you have learned now that why we need to help protect groundwater from becoming any more polluted because with our sanitary groundwater there would be no life on this earth.