PDF versionGroundwater is the water found underground in the cracks and spaces in soil, sand, and rock. Groundwater has been used by humans for thousands of years; today it provides 25% of the fresh water used in the United States, mostly for irrigation and public water supplies.
Basics
Groundwater is an inevitable result of gravity: if surface water can seep into the ground before it evaporates or flows away, it will. Water also flows through rocks underground and may flow out of the ground into streams, rivers, lakes, or the ocean in places where the land surface is lower than the water table (e.g., at the bottom of a valley or the side of a cliff) – these outflows of groundwater are commonly called “springs”. In this way, surface water and groundwater are intimately linked – in some places, changes in groundwater levels can have major effects on the levels of nearby rivers and lakes, and vice versa. Read more
Frequently Asked Questions
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