Ground water: Why and How We Use and Protect It Classroom Presentation – Middle School

What Is Ground Water?

Earth’s Fresh Water

Distribution of Earth’s Water

All Water On Earth Unusable 99% Groundwater 99% Lakes 0.86 % Rivers 0.02 %

Ground water is an important part of our lives every day The average person uses 50 to 120 gallons of water every day, for drinking, bathing, cooking, washing clothes If you live in a home that uses its own well, you are also using ground water In Louisiana, there are 11 principle freshwater aquifers of which hundreds of millions of gallons of water per day are withdrawn from each

Using Water In Louisiana In Louisiana, we use 1.6 billion gallons of ground water every day About 770 million gallons a day of that goes to home wells and public water supply Ground Water Aquifers are permeable, saturated zones or rock or sand that contain water For example, the Lafayette area draws ground water from the Chicot Aquifer The Chicot and Mississippi River Alluvial aquifers account for about 80 percent of ground water use in Louisiana, more than 1 billion gallons a day

Our Concerns About Ground Water Conservation Contamination

Conservation We do not want to take water from an aquifer at such a rate that we exceed its ability to “recharge” “Recharge” is the term used in describing how an aquifer soaks in more water to replace what is leaving due to wells or the natural water cycle If that balance is lost, the “water table” falls

What you can do conserve water Turn water off while you are brushing your teeth Don’t run the water constantly when washing dishes Or, if you have a dishwasher, only run it when full Take less time in the shower If you see a leaking faucet, let someone know to get it fixed Remember that your toilet is not a trash can, don’t use it to flush what can be thrown away

Contamination Household cleaners can contribute to ground water contamination Chemicals you use outside can contribute to ground water contamination Litter can contribute to ground water contamination Spills of oil or gasoline outside can contribute to ground water contamination

What You Can Do To Protect Against Contamination Don’t litter, and pick up litter when you see it Reuse and recycle when you can Don’t pour household chemicals down drains or onto ground When working outside, try to minimize the use of chemicals on lawns If handling chemicals outside, be careful not to spill onto ground

Worldwide Concern, Not Just Louisiana 1.5 billion people in world depend on ground water for drinking water Of all the water in the world humans can drink, 98 percent is stored in aquifers as ground water.

Protect Our Natural Resources