ENVIRONMENTAL EARTH SCIENCE
GROUNDWATER LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Think about how much water you use every day for drinking, washing, cooking, flushing, watering plants etc. Most people in our school district get their water from wells, and although there are some places where people get city water, a lot of that also comes from the ground. These are statements of some of what people  need to know to manage our groundwater resources Take notes on how you learned the following objectives from class work, video, text, and other sources.

During your learning, you should focus on information that helps you to understand:

1.  ... how water moves through the WATER CYCLE by evaporation, transpiration, condensation, precipitation, runoff, and groundwater flow.

2.1 ... that slope, saturation, rate of rainfall, and condition of the surface determine if precipitation soaks into the surface or runs off the surface.

2.2  ... that the rate of infiltration can be measured and calculated using a known volume of water, a defined area, and a measured amount of time

2.3  ...how to measure and calculate rate of infiltration.

2.4  ..that if the rate of rainfall exceeds the rate on infiltration, runoff will occur

2.5  ..how people affect the rate of infiltration by changing the surface of the land.

2.6 ... that there are many ways to build without adversely decreasing infiltration.

 38.  ...  that water that soaks into the ground moves through the tiny spaces between soil particles and rock fragments, and through the narrow fractures in bedrock.

 39.  ...  that there are very few, if any, tunnels or underground streams of water in our area.

 40.  ...  that the zone of aeration is the upper portion of soil, loose rock and bedrock fractures in which the spaces in fractures and between particles contain mostly air.

  41.  ...  that a thin film of water stays on surfaces in the zone of aeration, and this thin film is removed by evaporation and by plant roots.     

42.  ...  that the zone of saturation is the area below the zone of aeration in which all spaces in fractures and between particles are filled with water.

43.  ...  that the water table is the top of the zone of saturation.

44.  ... that friction between the water in the zone of saturation and material around it causes the water to move slowly and build up a thicker zone of saturation at the base of hills than near the top.

45.  ... that water in the zone of saturation above the bedrock can enter and fill fractures in the bedrock.

46.  ... that water flowing downhill though the zone of saturation eventually reaches the surface of the ground again at permanent streams, springs, lakes, or the ocean.

47.  ... that the level of the water in permanent streams and lakes is the level of the water table in the ground next to the stream or lake.

48.  ... that the water flowing in permanent streams and lakes between rainstorms is supplied by groundwater flowing out the zone of saturation into the bed of the stream or lake.

49.  ... that shallow, usually dug wells in this area pull water from the zone of saturation below the water table and above the bedrock.

49.5  ... that few homes have any kind of filtration or water purification system.

50.  ... that deeper, drilled wells in this area pull water from fractures in the bedrock in the zone of saturation.

50.5  ... that knowing where the water comes from that enters a well is important in making sure that water is not contaminated.

50. 6  ... that well water should be tested regularly

50.7  ... that many wells have been contaminated in every town by a variety of sources.

51.  ... that an aquifer is a deposit of material which contains enough water to supply a well.

52.  ... that aquifers with layers of particles of mixed sizes cannot hold as much water as layers of particles of the same size because the small particles fill in the spaces between large particles in the mixed size aquifer.

53.  ... that bedrock fractures and unstratified glacial till aquifers can usually provide only enough water for individual home wells that are not too close together.

54.  ... that wells in stratified glacial drift can provide large amounts of water for entire communities.

55.  ... that the water taken in by a well from the zone of saturation over bedrock probably came from the surface directly over and directly uphill from the well.

56.  ... that the water taken in by a bedrock fracture well could have come from miles away by traveling through the fractures in the bedrock.

57.  ... that groundwater can be polluted easily from a variety of home, office, or factory sources by simply pouring material on the ground or flushing material into a septic system.

58.  ... that once polluted, groundwater is nearly impossible to clean because of its depth and slow speed.

59.  ... that all waste materials, pesticides, fertilizers, cleaning fluids, and auto fluids will contaminate groundwater if improperly used or disposed of.

60.  ... that household hazardous materials need to be disposed of only at a Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day.