Does your family or community use groundwater?

According to the EPA, 40% of people living in the United States use groundwater for drinking, cooking, cleaning, showering, and all other types of activities. 97% of people living in rural areas of the nation use groundwater, and 30-40% of water used agriculturally (for farming) is from the ground.

These large numbers tell us that groundwater is an important source and needs to be taken care of.

The groundwater that is pulled out of the ground is used for many different things:

• Drinking
• Cleaning
• Bathing
• Cooking
• Watering the yard
• and much more.

Can you think of any other uses?

You can see why groundwater must be protected from contamination.

Before you begin to learn about the problem of groundwater contamination, it is important for you to review where groundwater comes from and how it moves.