Water is our second primary need right after oxygen, and it’s essential for our survival. Animals and plants are also dependent on water, which means that this resource is vital for the ecosystems. This makes water one of the most precious resources on Earth.
While 71% of the planet’s surface is covered with water, only a small percentage is suitable for drinking. Only three percent of this amount is freshwater and is mostly locked up in glaciers, atmospheric vapor, and the soil.
Sources
The fresh water available for human consumption is mostly in surface water, i.e., lakes, rivers, creeks, and streams. This water is also responsible for keeping the ecosystems alive.
But there is another important source, and this is our blog’s main topic: groundwater. This is water that came from precipitations and runoffs and percolated into the soil, forming underground water reservoirs. The ground acts like a sponge, absorbing water and storing it within the rocks’ openings and cracks.
The importance of this resource cannot be underrated. Nearly 50% of the world’s population depends on groundwater, and this is a vital supply for those who live in dry areas with no access to rivers and lakes. Only in the United States, groundwater accounts for 40% of the water used for bathing, drinking, or irrigation.
Some large cities depend on groundwater almost entirely. 95% of the people in Mexico City, for example, rely on groundwater for their basic water needs. In Denmark, 99% of the drinking water comes from aquifers.
While surface water accounts for 0.8% of the planet’s total water volume, groundwater equals 1.7%. Yet, for obvious reasons, groundwater is harder and more expensive to extract. Many mining systems provide water to both single families and whole populations.
Groundwater is the major freshwater source, but it presents many challenges. It can be difficult to detect its location, availability, and use. In many cases, future supply, shortage, and availability are hard to predict due to geological conditions.
Scarcity
Nearly 800 million people don’t have access to fresh water. Also, the amounts used to supply the increasing population, soil irrigation, and agriculture activity are contributing to the scarcity of this essential element.
This shortage can be produced by different factors like physical scarcity or institutional incompetence. Some areas don’t have physical access to water due to geological and climatic conditions. In other cases, the water can be extracted but the authorities fail to provide a reliable supply system.
Moreover, the use of water has increased significantly over the last century. This growth equals twice the rate of the population increase. Water is used for daily needs, livestock, irrigation, and industrial purposes. The development of civilization and increased population have made the need for water even greater than before. Still, the water sources are not recharging as fast as our thirst for it. Parallelly, global warming is going to generate more droughts.
Contamination
Water is polluted due to a variety of factors. The main pollution source for surface water is human waste. The improper disposal of sewage sludge into rivers, especially in third-world countries, may lead to fast contamination of the water source.
Groundwater is not safe from pollution and environmental hazards. It can be affected by chemical waste, oil leaks, septic tanks, and saline water. In the same way that raindrops percolate into the ground, pollutants can make their way into aquifers affecting large water sources.
Our content
These problems call for urgent solutions. Igrac’s blog intends to feature relevant content about groundwater, issues, news, facts, and potential solutions. Readers can find topics like:
- Current problems of the groundwater sources around the world.
- Extraction and supply challenges.
- Approaches towards preventing over mining.
- Anti-contamination methods.
- Decontaminations methods.
- Information on domestic and industrial extraction techniques.
- Replenishment techniques.
- Latest news and interesting facts.
- Latest published research.
- Potential solutions to the water crisis.
- Potential solutions to groundwater contamination.
- Potential solutions to groundwater depletion.
Our foundation is committed to broadcasting information on groundwater and making people aware of its importance.
Our community
Welcome to Igrac’s blog, where you will find the hottest topics on aquifers, wells, groundwater flows, safe extraction methods, regulations, land subsidence, Artesian water, groundwater uses, and locations. We encourage our readers to leave their comments and send us questions and ideas.