Question

How is groundwater replenished?

Answer 1

Groundwater is replenished by various sources such as seepage from surface water, deliberate pumping of surface water into the ground, irrigation, and underground wastewater treatment systems. Wetlands and aquifers act as recharge areas for groundwater. However, excessive pumping of groundwater can create a localized drop in the water table and result in a cone of depression, leading to a depletion of regional water resources.

Step-by-step explanation:

Groundwater is a significant, subsurface reservoir of fresh water. It exists in the pores between particles in dirt, sand, and gravel or in the fissures in rocks. Groundwater can flow slowly through these pores and fissures and eventually finds its way to a stream or lake where it becomes part of the surface water again. Many streams flow not because they are replenished from rainwater directly but because they receive a constant inflow from the groundwater below.

Other sources of groundwater include seepage from surface water (lakes, rivers, reservoirs, and swamps), surface water deliberately pumped into the ground, irrigation, and underground wastewater treatment systems (septic tanks). Recharge areas are locations where surface water infiltrates the ground rather than running into rivers or evaporating. Wetlands, for example, are excellent recharge areas. A large area of sub-surface, porous rock that holds water is an aquifer. Aquifers are commonly drilled, and wells installed, to provide water for agriculture and personal use.

Answer 2

Water is a renewable resource, to a point. The current population of the world is using water at an alarming rate, and nature cannot keep up. You may think there is enough water on earth for everybody, but when you look at the numbers, the amount readily available for consumption is very little. Of the Earth's water, 97% is salt water and 3% is fresh water, but of that 3%, only 0.003% is available for human consumption. In industrialized countries, urban sprawl is increasingly paving over land, forcing rainfall to flow to surface water, rather than seeping back into underground aquifers. This is why groundwater replenishment programs are very important to the survival of the Earth and all of its inhabitants.