b water and then also allow the water to seep back out. Rainwater only goes into shallow aquifers, not all aquifers. Some of the biggest and purest quifers are so deep that rainwater does not affect them at all. The deep aquifers can be drawn down and are indeed being drawn down. They cannot, however, be replenished except over hundreds of years.

Those aquifers replenished by rain are also impacted by any other sources of water going into the ground. This includes wastewater being dumped into the ground both

The headlines of the day focus on droughts, very serious drought. But, as the June 4, 2007 of,< b> Newsweek pointed out, water quality and not just quanity is an equally serious worldwide problem. We Americans are only now beginning to notice headlines about water quality issues. If North America had one great blessing for centuries it was an abundance of good water. There was never reason to worry about water quality or quantity. Many of us still remember drinking from wells and streams in our youth that, if we drank from today, would kill us. Water was to be found practically anywhere. Good wells lasted seemingly forever.

Population growth, industrialization and heavy use of fertilizers have changed all that. Wells are running dry and wellwater is becoming contaminated.

The quality and quantity of available drinking water from wells is being severely compromised. Available water for irrigation drawn from wells is diminishing. The outlook in the United States is for both increased scarcity of water and more health threats from contaminated water. Around the world millions of people, mostly children, die every year from drinking bad water. It could happen in North America, too. That is why all the fuss right now, to make sure it does not happen here and to remedy the situation around the world.

Related to these issues are concerns about the use of agricultural fertilizers and pesticides, disposal of industrial wastewater and discharges from wastewater treatment plants, the impact of septic systems on the quality of ground water and a general concern about what to do with wastewater. In order to discuss and debate solutions it is helpful to understand more about aquifers.

Aquifers are water-bearing rock or other materials such as gravel, sand, silt or clay from which water can be extracted. The popular conception of underground water is that it exists as lakes, rivers or pools under the earth's surface and that it comes from rain. But in fact underground water exists in materials, mostly porous rock, that absorb water and then also allow the water to seep back out. Rainwater only goes into shallow aquifers, not all aquifers. Some of the biggest and purest quifers are so deep that rainwater does not affect them at all. The deep aquifers can be drawn down and are indeed being drawn down. They cannot, however, be replenished except over hundreds of years.

Those aquifers replenished by rain are also impacted by any other sources of water going into the ground. This includes wastewater being dumped into the ground both

if we drank from today, would kill us. Water was to be found practically anywhere. Good wells lasted seemingly forever.

Population growth, industrialization and heavy use of fertilizers have changed all that. Wells are running dry and wellwater is becoming contaminated.

The quality and quantity of available drinking water from wells is being severely compromised. Available water for irrigation drawn from wells is diminishing. The outlook in the United States is for both increased scarcity of water and more health threats from contaminated water. Around the world millions of people, mostly children, die every year from drinking bad water. It could happen in North America, too. That is why all the fuss right now, to make sure it does not happen here and to remedy the situation around the world.

Related to these issues are concerns about the use of agricultural fertilizers and pesticides, disposal of industrial wastewater and discharges from wastewater treatment plants, the impact of septic systems on the quality of ground water and a general concern about what to do with wastewater. In order to discuss and debate solutions it is helpful to understand more about aquifers.

Aquifers are water-bearing rock or other materials such as gravel, sand, silt or clay from which water can be extracted. The popular conception of underground water is that it exists as lakes, rivers or pools under the earth's surface and that it comes from rain. But in fact underground water exists in materials, mostly porous rock, that absorb water and then also allow the water to seep back out. Rainwater only goes into shallow aquifers, not all aquifers. Some of the biggest and purest quifers are so deep that rainwater does not affect them at all. The deep aquifers can be drawn down and are indeed being drawn down. They cannot, however, be replenished except over hundreds of years.

Those aquifers replenished by rain are also impacted by any other sources of water going into the ground. This includes wastewater being dumped into the ground both

more health threats from contaminated water. Around the world millions of people, mostly children, die every year from drinking bad water. It could happen in North America, too. That is why all the fuss right now, to make sure it does not happen here and to remedy the situation around the world.

Related to these issues are concerns about the use of agricultural fertilizers and pesticides, disposal of industrial wastewater and discharges from wastewater treatment plants, the impact of septic systems on the quality of ground water and a general concern about what to do with wastewater. In order to discuss and debate solutions it is helpful to understand more about aquifers.

Aquifers are water-bearing rock or other materials such as gravel, sand, silt or clay from which water can be extracted. The popular conception of underground water is that it exists as lakes, rivers or pools under the earth's surface and that it comes from rain. But in fact underground water exists in materials, mostly porous rock, that absorb water and then also allow the water to seep back out. Rainwater only goes into shallow aquifers, not all aquifers. Some of the biggest and purest quifers are so deep that rainwater does not affect them at all. The deep aquifers can be drawn down and are indeed being drawn down. They cannot, however, be replenished except over hundreds of years.

Those aquifers replenished by rain are also impacted by any other sources of water going into the ground. This includes wastewater being dumped into the ground both

ality of ground water and a general concern about what to do with wastewater. In order to discuss and debate solutions it is helpful to understand more about aquifers.

Aquifers are water-bearing rock or other materials such as gravel, sand, silt or clay from which water can be extracted. The popular conception of underground water is that it exists as lakes, rivers or pools under the earth's surface and that it comes from rain. But in fact underground water exists in materials, mostly porous rock, that absorb water and then also allow the water to seep back out. Rainwater only goes into shallow aquifers, not all aquifers. Some of the biggest and purest quifers are so deep that rainwater does not affect them at all. The deep aquifers can be drawn down and are indeed being drawn down. They cannot, however, be replenished except over hundreds of years.

Those aquifers replenished by rain are also impacted by any other sources of water going into the ground. This includes wastewater being dumped into the ground both

b water and then also allow the water to seep back out. Rainwater only goes into shallow aquifers, not all aquifers. Some of the biggest and purest quifers are so deep that rainwater does not affect them at all. The deep aquifers can be drawn down and are indeed being drawn down. They cannot, however, be replenished except over hundreds of years.

Those aquifers replenished by rain are also impacted by any other sources of water going into the ground. This includes wastewater being dumped into the ground both legally and illegally. If rainwater can get to the quifer then so too can chemical spills, toxins, fertilizers and disease-causing organism spewed onto the ground or into streams and rivers that interact with shallow aquifers.

In periods of high waterflow streams and rivers replenish aquifers, while in periods of low flow the aquifers replenish the rivers and streams. When a river or stream runs dry it means the aquifer has also become too low. When the river or water drawn from an aquifer shows pollution it means both can be polluted because they interact. Pollution can get into aquifers but is nearly impossible to get rid of once there. As an example, a number of aquifers are being drawn down on the East Coast. The vacuum is filled by saltwater from the ocean, thereby ruining the aquifers.

Not much was known about aquifers beyond the fact of their existence, until serious mapping during the last few decades. There is still much to be learned. What has been learned is availble through the US Geological Survey Office as well as Internet postings under the heading of Aquifers.

Enough has been learned, however, to know that this source of good water is limited, vulnerable to pollution and overuse. For well owners the implications are immediate: protect the quality of your well from pollution and the quantity from overuse. Test your well regularly and monitor increased water use in your area along with increased amounts of wastewater disposal.