Groundwater forms that part of the natural water cycle present within the underground strata or aquifers. Of the global quantity of available fresh water, more than 98 percent is groundwater stored in the pores and fractures of rock strata. Ground water is also an important source for industry and agriculture as well as for sustaining rivers experiencing low flows. A reduction in either quantity or quality of the discharging groundwater can significantly influence surface-water quality; surface water and groundwater are therefore intimately connected.
Groundwater pollution refers to the introduction of chemical materials into the groundwater which alters the quality of the water and makes it unfit for consumptions and or other uses. The threat of groundwater pollution is on the increase because of the many synthetic products and materials being used today.
Groundwater is about the purest source of untreated table water as a result of the natural filtration the water undergoes before it gets to the aquifer in the course of the water cycle. Unlike the open water sources (rivers, rainfall, stream, etc), groundwater is hardy contaminated. Also with the increasing pressure on other surface water sources, groundwater might obviously become the bailout for the ever increasing demand on the global freshwater. Many regions of the world are already finding succour in groundwater sources. So its pollution would seriously affect the a good proportion of human race.
If groundwater becomes polluted it is difficult if not impossible to rehabilitate. The slow rate of groundwater flow and low microbiological activities limit any self-purification processes which takes place in days or weeks in surface water systems can take decades in groundwater.
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Fortune Ihunweze is a professional Environmental Resources Manager with a passion for the environment. His views and articles on the environment are shared is his website; [http://www.environmenthighlight.com].
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Fortune Ihunweze is a professional Environmental Resources Manager with a passion for the environment. His views and articles on the environment are shared is his website; [http://www.environmenthighlight.com].
