This week kicks off Groundwater Awareness Week and, as a shared natural resource vital for protection as our area grows and develops, WakeUP wants to make sure you know what it is and why it’s important for us to consider within planning and development decisions.
What is Groundwater?
Groundwater is the largest source of freshwater available to humans. More specifically, it is water that fills cracks and other openings in beds of rocks and sand. Each drop of rain that soaks into the soils moves downward to the water table (the water level in the groundwater reservoir).
Groundwater is found in soils and sands that are able to retain the water — much like a sponge holds water. It is replenished by rainfall and snow runoff and stored below ground features known as aquifers, which are the water-bearing rock and/or sediment layers. Humans access it through deep-well digging.
Why is groundwater important?
While the quality of surface water can be impacted by external factors like: erosion, runoff, pollution, animal waste and other contaminants, groundwater tends to be more stable, making it an important source for drinking water and for crop irrigation. This is because it typically moves slowly through rock, allowing contaminants to be filtered, including some bacteria and viruses.
In addition, it also can bubble up naturally through springs, lakes, or streams in order to help replenish and maintain levels of surface water during dry seasons and drought. It is as vital of a source of water for ecosystems as it is for humans.
What are the environmental threats to groundwater?
Even though it is typically a clean water source, as noted above, there are many cases where groundwater resources have been ruined or negatively affected by environmental and human impacts. This is an added challenge with groundwater because once it’s contaminated, it is difficult to remediate due to its depth and lack of accessibility. From chemicals and runoff contamination to saltwater intrusion, the freshwater quality of groundwater has real risks of irreparable damage without intentional efforts against it.
The overall volume of groundwater in aquifers is also a serious environmental issue. Though it can replenish with rainfall and snow runoff, it is a finite resource that can be depleted. This concern is amplified during droughts and extreme heat, when surface water levels decrease and aquifers aren’t recharged by precipitation. And, because of its depth, it is hard to measure and assess groundwater levels. With climate change and rapidly warming surface temperatures, groundwater is an even more essential resource to note.
How does development impact groundwater?
As with most natural resources, human interaction and how we develop the land are major contributing factors to both the quality and quantity of groundwater available. Specifically, development can have two primary negative effects on groundwater:
- Sprawl development threatens groundwater quality by contributing runoff from roads and parking lots, carrying pollutants (i.e. oils and greases, fertilizers, salts from winter road treatments, septic systems, pet waste, and illegal roadside dumps). At higher levels, it becomes harder to engage the natural filtration process.
- New land development also reduces the quantity of our groundwater by limited access points for absorption. With new development overlaying natural, spongy ground cover (meadows, forests and wetlands, etc) our roads, parking lots, and driveways are preventing rain/snow runoff from being able to seep into the ground to replenish our aquifers.
Undeveloped land is valuable not just for recreation and wildlife, but also because of its natural filtering function. Without intentional conservation of the land we share, the various natural resources that depend on it are greatly diminished. Wetlands, for example, act like sponges, absorbing precipitation and runoff and slowly releasing it into the ground. When development happens overtop of and around this resource, groundwater quality and quality is impacted.
What can you do to help?
As noted, groundwater is the largest source of freshwater on our planet so it’s conservation should be taken seriously by everyone. A few things you can do to ensure groundwater is a resource we all have:
- If you are a well-owner, make sure to schedule regular water tests and take action if the results show any issues.
- Everyone should make sure to limit chemicals and harmful substances that are absorbed into the ground – this includes road salts, chemical sprays, trash, and animal waste. Properly dispose of all chemicals as per city and county regulations.
- Advocate for in-fill development that meets growth demands will limiting new construction that would tear down natural landscapes. Voting and speakingUP against additional expansion of roads and single family housing in suburban areas helps our community ensure natural surfaces that can absorb the cycle of water need to replenish our groundwater sources.
WakeUP has long been an advocate to ensure quality water sources are available to all residents as our grows. Growth development that has extended beyond the city center has led to a significant loss of valuable natural resources and greatly impacts groundwater reserves. When we SpeakUP for public transit, affordable housing, and strategic land use development, conservation of resources like groundwater are a huge part of the connecting pieces. Considering where development is happening and the impacts on natural resources around it – from surface cover to the aquifers below – is an important aspect of sustainable growth planning that needs to be considered, especially as our climate continues to warm.
Sources:
https://www.ngwa.org/what-is-groundwater/About-groundwater/groundwater-facts
https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/what-is-groundwater-and-why-is-it-so-important
https://extension.psu.edu/how-land-use-impacts-groundwater
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6086250/