Name___________________________Date_______Class____
Groundwater and Surface Water Fact Sheet
The Water Cycle
What is a Watershed?
An area of land where surface water and groundwater drain into a
particular body of water, separated from each other by drainage divides.
Drainage divides are just areas of higher ground surrounding a watershed
region.
Groundwater
Water that soaks into the ground and collects in pores and empty spaces
inside rock is groundwater.
The zone of saturation is the rock layer that is completely filled with
groundwater.
Name___________________________Date_______Class____
Spaces in rock
Pores are spaces in rock that allow water to flow through.
Permeable rock has many well-connected pores and cracks that allows
groundwater to flow through.
Aquifer
An aquifer is a layer of permeable rock that water flows through.
Impermeable rock stops water from moving downward so that it collects in
the aquifer.
In the ground
The water table is the upper layer of the zone of saturation where the pore
spaces are filled with water.
Wells are dug or drilled into the ground to pull up groundwater from an
aquifer. If the water table drops during a drought or from overuse of the
aquifer, wells may run dry.
What is the source of groundwater?
Surface water that falls to the ground as precipitation will flow over the
ground in streams and rivers before collecting in larger bodies of water
such as lakes, seas, and oceans.
Surface water can soak into the ground and become groundwater.
Watershed
A watershed is an area where water drains into a waterway such as a
stream, river, lake, aquifer, or sea.
This water begins as precipitation which runs off (runoff water) the land
and down slopes.
How can surface pollutants contaminate groundwater?
Contaminants from the surface can runoff the land into streams and also
soak into the ground to contaminate the groundwater in an area.
Name___________________________Date_______Class____
How does contamination move underground?
Pollutants that seep into the ground will flow downward with the flow of
groundwater.
Contaminants form a plume that can corrupt wells and drinking water in a
region.
How does permeability affect the movement of water?
Permeable rock allows water to flow through.
Water gradually flows down a slope in a watershed.
Water that comes in contact with impermeable rock layers will be stopped
or trapped and stop flowing.
How does man extract groundwater?
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
How does subsidence occur?
Ground can sink or settle when groundwater is pumped out.
Layers of rock can sink when minerals are mined or oil and gas are
removed from layers of rock.
Is there subsidence in our area? Describe?
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
How can polluted surface water and groundwater affect humans?
People are the largest cause of polluted water.
Examples:
___________________________________________________________
How can people be harmed by polluted water?
__________________________________________________