Groundwater is the available stocks of natural water hidden beneath the earth’s surface in pore spaces and fractures in sediment and rock. Groundwater was originally rainfall and snow which sinks into the earth and travels through it into the system of spaces and fractures, travelling through it until it surfaces again in streams, lakes and oceans.
Where atmospheric water and fresh surface water reservoirs are seen as short-term water sources, groundwater that is replenished from above and recycled from water from precipitation, rivers and streams, is the global long-term reservoir of the natural water cycle.
Groundwater is generally found in underground water saturated strata called aquifers, which yield a substantial amount of water to wells. There are confined aquifers which are the saturated zone between layers of retentive material, putting the groundwater under unified pressure and unconfined aquifers in which there are no completely airtight layers directly above the saturated zone.
Water sourced from aquifers is pure and although it may contain some ground sediment it tastes wonderful. It is unfortunate that this water is still treated by municipalities before arriving at your home as drinking water because the purifying of this natural water denudes the water of all minerals, including those which our bodies need.
Groundwater sources are vital to all countries, as most of the public drinking water is sourced from groundwater. The character of the rock in which aquifers exist may differ greatly from country to country, as does the level at which the groundwater lies, but without this groundwater we would not be able to survive because the human body basically runs on water.
The United Kingdom has three important aquifers; the Jurassic Limestones, the Sherwood Sandstone, and the Chalk. The groundwater from these aquifers, which are consolidated, indurate sedimentary formations with dual porosity, is abundant and of very good quality.
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