- Groundwater is the water located beneath the earth’s surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations.
- A unit of rock or an unconsolidated deposit is called an aquifer when it can yield a usable quantity of water.
- The depth at which soil pore spaces or fractures and voids in rock become completely saturated with water is called the water table.
- Groundwater is recharged from, and eventually flows to, the surface naturally; natural discharge often occurs at springs and seeps, and can formoases or wetlands.
- Groundwater is also often withdrawn for agricultural, municipal, and industrial use by constructing and operating extraction wells.
- It is a precious national resource that requires preservation.