National Groundwater Awareness Week

National Groundwater Awareness Week is March 10-16 this year and we are elated at the opportunity to learn more and take the opportunity to make our groundwater safe.  Do you know that groundwater is the most accessed source of freshwater in the world?

Water is one of the world’s most vital resources which supports life. Animals, plants, humans, the whole ecosystem, and the earth depend on water for their continued existence. As humans, we use water every day for myriad day-to-day activities like cooking, drinking, bathing, farming, and more.

Water covers 71% of the earth’s surface in contrast to the bare ground surface upon which we all step and build our houses and structures. One might have thought that this would make water readily available for consumption, but 97% of that water is ocean water — salty and undrinkable, with only 3% water fresh and suitable for drinking, the top of which is groundwater.

Groundwater is water situated deep under the ground in aquifers, a body of rock that holds water. It is what most times constitutes well water when we dig deep into the earth to source water, and it is the largest available fresh water on the earth. As far back as 9,000 years ago, man began the search for freshwater, digging the earth with their hands and crude tools for water below the earth.

Over the years, sophisticated methods have risen, leading to wells, boreholes, and other water exploitation sources, solving this problem of freshwater for man’s sustenance. People in countries all over the world make use of groundwater, and in the U.S., groundwater is the most commonly engaged source for public water supplies.

National Groundwater Awareness Week is a time of the year set aside to advocate for the cleanliness and safety of groundwater, especially for private water well owners to test, tend, and treat their water systems. This reminds us not to take water for granted, as the import of groundwater into our current existence can’t be belittled.