STD 10TH WATER SECURITY

HOW GROUND WATER FORMED

INTRODUCTION:
The water we can see on the surface of the earth is surface
water. The Earth is 70% water. However, only 3% of this
water is fresh water. Much of this freshwater is frozen in
glaciers, you will find some of the Surface water is every
lakes, ponds, rivers, streams and oceans on earth, but in the
ground below your feet there’s even more water--- ground
water. Almost 30% of this fresh water is ground water.

What is GROUND WATER?

Ground water is water that’s crammed in the tiny gaps
between rocks, soils and sediments under the ground. A full
body of ground water is called aquifer. If you can grab a
shovel and dig straight down through the soils. The level
where you first hit ground water is called the water table.
Below the water table the ground is completely soaked or
saturated with water which is why this area is called the
saturated zone.

How this water end up in the ground

Well it’s all a part of the good of water cycle. When it rain
some water gets soaked by plants, some water runs off the
soil other water gets stuck on the surface and eventually
evaporates, some of the water droplets get to travel down
through the surface deep underground until they reach the
water table. Once water steeps deep down enough into the
ground it can stay there for really long time
Ground water doesn’t always stay on the ground a lot, it the
surface of the ground dips below the water table ground
water flows out into the space creating a body of surface
water. If the surface water dries up ground water can flow
into fill it back up and if the water table in this area rises so
it is the level of the surface water ground water can also
pour down a sloping surface creating streams any place
where ground water flows out into the surface is called
spring.

Surface water can also become groundwater, if a body of

surface water flows above the water table. Water can seep
down through the sediment and helps fill the aquifer of
course there is another way that groundwater can leave the
ground. Humans depend on groundwater and there are
thousands of wells all over the country that draw water out
of aquifers. In many parts of the country the water you get
from the tap comes from the ground. We use most of our
groundwater to help grow the vegetables, crops form can
get its lots of water they need from rain but rain isn’t
always enough and in dry years farmers depend even move
on the water that’s stored in the ground.

Aquifers can be refilled by rain water or surface water

seeping in from rivers and streams. So there’s usually more
water on its way to replenish the aquifer but if we use
ground water faster than the aquifers can refill we could
drain them or dry. They probably wouldn’t be empty
forever, but it would take hundreds of years for the largest
aquifers to get back to healthy levels whether it’s up or
down water and how we use it matters. We may not be
able to see it every day but groundwater makes our lives
possible, so don’t lets show off like rushing river and roaring
oceans get all the attention those unseen aquifers below
ground have been longer thin we have and with a little love
and care. They’ll keep on taking care of us long into the
future.

PROBLEMS WITH GROUND WATER

 Ground water overdraft / mining / subsidence
 Water logging
 Seawater intrusion
 Groundwater pollution
 Conservation and preservation of ground water
important task
 Groundwater quality: very much deteriorated due to
rapid industrialization and human mismanagement

MANAGEMENT OF GROUND WATER SYSTEMS....

 MANAGEMENT means making decisions to achieve

goals without violating specified constraints.
 GOOD MANAGEMENT requires information on the
response of the managed system to the proposed
activities.
 This information enables decision-maker, to compare
alternatives and ensure that constraints are not
violated
  ANY PLANNING OF MITIGATION or control measures,
once contamination has been detected requires the
prediction of the path and the fate of the
contaminants, in response to the planned activities.
 ANY MONITORING OR OBSERVATION NETWORK must
be based on the anticipated behaviour of the system..

GROUND WATER CONTAMINATION SOURCES

Natural contamination
Agricultural contamination
Industrial contamination
Underground storage tanks
Land application and mining
Septic tanks
Waste disposal injection wells

GROUNDWATER POLLUTION SOURCES

DOMESTIC WASTE: A household waste, Septic tanks,

Liquid fraction from septic tank pollutes ground water,
inefficient design - increases pollution.
AGRICULTURE POLLUTION: Artificial manure,
Pesticides, Herbicides, Nitrate pollution,
Eutrophication, Health problem – in drinking water-
long term problem, Pesticides- insecticides, herbicides,
fungicides beneficial to farming- serious threat to
health.
LEACHATES FROM LANDFILLS: Land filling – cheapest
commonly used- solid waste disposal, Domestic,
Commercial, and Industrial, Polluting liquids-
leachates.
Industrial Pollution: Petrochemical, Pharmaceutical,
Industries- Complex organic wastes- NAPL (DNAPL,
LNAPL) , Spills or leaks from tanks, pipelines.