Here are a few facts about groundwater, brought to us by the National Ground Water Association.
A brief history on #GWAW, groundwater awareness week, an annual observance was established in 1999 to highlight the responsible development, management, and use of groundwater. The event is also a platform to encourage yearly water well testing and well maintenance, and the promotion of policies impacting groundwater quality and supply. Groundwater advocates across the country also use GWAW to highlight local water issues in their communities.
Facts about groundwater
- The Oglalla Aquifer stretches more than 450,000 square kilometers (174,000 square miles) through parts of the U.S. states of South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas, according to National Geographic. The Oglalla Aquifer holds more than 3,000 cubic kilometers (2.4 billion acre-feet) of groundwater.
- The average household’s leaks can account for nearly 10,000 gallons of water wasted every year, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
- Ten percent of homes have leaks that waste 90 gallons or more per day, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
- Of the estimated 29 billion gallons of water used daily by households in the US, nearly 9 billion gallons, or 30 percent, is devoted to outdoor water use, according to EPA’s WaterSense program. In the hot summer months, or in dry climates, a household’s outdoor water use can be as high as 70 percent.
- The United States uses 82.3 billion gallons per day of fresh groundwater for public supply, private supply, irrigation, livestock, manufacturing, mining, thermoelectric power, and other purposes, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
