AQUIFERS and GROUNDWATER

AQUIFERS and GROUNDWATER

UNDERGROUND WATER

______: water beneath Earth’s surface -______surface then ______through spaces in rock and sediment.

______: body of rock that stores underground water and allows it to flow.

GROUNDWATER MOVES

______pulls water down – fills ______in rock - until it hits ______.

______depends on

• ______– like streams.
• ______: the ability of rock to let water pass through its pores.

GROUNDWATER ZONES

______- Level where pore space is completely filled with water.

• ______is the water table.

______ - Zone ______water table and surface.

• Zone of ______

______ - ______of the zone of saturation

• Itis the level below which the ground is saturated with water.

CONFINED VERSUS UNCONFINED AQUIFERS

______water infiltrates easily from surface.

______– water trapped by impermeable rock or clay –between layers of rock.

AQUIFERS STORE GROUNDWATER

Aquifers: Underground layers of rock that are ______with water.

Can be brought to the surface through ______or by ______.

______of all drinking water comes from aquifers.

OUR AQUIFER: PIEDMONT AQUIFER - Piedmont and Blue Ridge aquifers

______covered with ______

______at top

______- chemically weathered bedrock

Porosity and permeability of bedrock is ______due to extreme heat AND pressure.

Groundwater obtained from (1) ______and (2) ______in the rock.

AQUIFER DRAWDOWN

Provide water for:

______: drinking, cooking, cleaning

______

______

Withdrawing water can ______.

RECHARGING AQUIFERS

Recharged by ______of precipitation.

______: the area where water from the surface can move through permeable rock to reach an aquifer.

Recharge zones can be ______by impermeable rock and man-made features.

RISK: GROUNDWATER DEPLETION

______long-term water-level declines caused by sustained pumping.

Leads to:

______water tables (harder to get to).

______cost for consumers.

______water in streams and lakes.

Land ______– loses support sinks.

______of water quality.

______intrusion near coasts.

RISK: GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATION

______is when man-made products (gasoline, oil, road salts, chemicals, etc.) get into the groundwater and cause it to become ______.

Sources include:

Storage tanks

Septic tanks

Landfills

Hazardous waste

Industrial discharge

Some areas more ______than others.