1 ground water: why and how we use and protect it classroom presentation – middle school

1

Ground water: Why Ground water: Why and How We Use and and How We Use and

Protect It Protect It Classroom Presentation – Middle

School

Louisiana Department of Natural Resources 2

What Is What Is Ground Ground Water?Water?

Louisiana Department of Natural Resources

Earth’s Fresh WaterEarth’s Fresh Water


Distribution of Earth’s Distribution of Earth’s WaterWater


All Water On EarthAll Water On Earth

Lakes 0.86 % Rivers 0.02 %

Groundwater 99%

Unusable 99%


Ground water is an Ground water is an important part of our important part of our

lives every daylives every day• The average person uses 50 to 120 gallons of water

every day, for drinking, bathing, cooking, washing clothes

• If you live in a home that uses its own well, you are also using ground water

• In Louisiana, there are 11 principle freshwater aquifers of which hundreds of millions of gallons of water per day are withdrawn from each


Using Water In Using Water In LouisianaLouisiana • In Louisiana, we use 1.6 billion

gallons of ground water every day

• About 770 million gallons a day of that goes to home wells and public water supply

• Ground Water Aquifers are permeable, saturated zones or rock or sand that contain water

• For example, the Lafayette area draws ground water from the Chicot Aquifer

• The Chicot and Mississippi River Alluvial aquifers account for about 80 percent of ground water use in Louisiana, more than 1 billion gallons a day


Our Concerns About Our Concerns About Ground WaterGround Water

1. Conservation

2. Contamination


ConservationConservation• We do not want to take water from an aquifer

at such a rate that we exceed its ability to “recharge”

• “Recharge” is the term used in describing how an aquifer soaks in more water to replace what is leaving due to wells or the natural water cycle

• If that balance is lost, the “water table” falls


What you can do What you can do conserve waterconserve water

• Turn water off while you are brushing your teeth

• Don’t run the water constantly when washing dishes

• Or, if you have a dishwasher, only run it when full

• Take less time in the shower

• If you see a leaking faucet, let someone know to get it fixed

• Remember that your toilet is not a trash can, don’t use it to flush what can be thrown away


ContaminationContamination• Household cleaners can

contribute to ground water contamination

• Chemicals you use outside can contribute to ground water contamination

• Litter can contribute to ground water contamination

• Spills of oil or gasoline outside can contribute to ground water contamination


What You Can Do To What You Can Do To Protect Against Protect Against ContaminationContamination

1. Don’t litter, and pick up litter when you see it

2. Reuse and recycle when you can

3. Don’t pour household chemicals down drains or onto ground

4. When working outside, try to minimize the use of chemicals on lawns

5. If handling chemicals outside, be careful not to spill onto ground


Worldwide Concern, Worldwide Concern, Not Just LouisianaNot Just Louisiana

1. 1.5 billion people in world depend on ground water for drinking water

2. Of all the water in the world humans can drink, 98 percent is stored in aquifers as ground water.


Protect Our Protect Our Natural Natural

ResourcesResources

1 ground water: why and how we use and protect it classroom presentation – middle school

Documents

gallons of water

gallons of ground water

drinking water

water table

conserve water

natural water cycle

fresh water slide

ground slide