1 ground water: why and how we use and protect it classroom presentation – middle school
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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
Distribution of Earth’s Distribution of Earth’s WaterWater
Louisiana Department of Natural Resources
All Water On EarthAll Water On Earth
Lakes 0.86 % Rivers 0.02 %
Groundwater 99%
Unusable 99%
Louisiana Department of Natural Resources
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In Louisiana, there are 11 principle freshwater aquifers of which hundreds of millions of gallons of water per day are withdrawn from each
Louisiana Department of Natural Resources
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
Louisiana Department of Natural Resources
Our Concerns About Our Concerns About Ground WaterGround Water
1. Conservation
2. Contamination
Louisiana Department of Natural Resources
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
Louisiana Department of Natural Resources
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
Louisiana Department of Natural Resources
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
Louisiana Department of Natural Resources
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
Louisiana Department of Natural Resources
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.
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