Explain the significance of the hydrological cycle and the concept of renewable supply.

1. Objectives: • Explain the significance of the hydrological cycle • and the concept of renewable supply. • Describe the major elements of the hydrological cycle. • Describe basic principles for measuring and • modeling the components of the hydrological cycle. • Describe the interconnections between surface and ground water. • Provide legal definitions of public, community, and domestic wells. • Describe major sectors of water demand.

2. Terms: • Hydrological cycle(also known as the water cycle): the path water takes through its various states- vapor, liquid, solid- as it moves through the ocean, atmosphere, streams, soil, groundwater etc.

4. Hydrologic Cycle • Basic elements • Surface water • Ground water • Hydrologic events • Variability.

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8. Waterborne Infectious Disease • Methods of preventing waterborne infectious disease are in part a matter of technology and expense. Credit: Bertram W. Roberts

9. Groundwater • Of all the earth water that is useable by human, 98% is ground water.

10. In the US, groundwater is used as the drinking water by more than 50 percent of the population, including almost everyone who lives in rural areas. The largest use for groundwater (quantities) is to irrigate crops Groundwater

12. Terms: • Unconfined aquifer:an aquifer containing groundwater that has a low permeable layer below but not above it. • Confined aquifer: groundwater between two layers of low permeable clay or rocks.

13. Flow times through an aquifer system from USGS circular 1139.

14. Dug wells are holes in the ground dug by shovel or backhoe. Historically, a dug well was excavated below the groundwater table until incoming water exceeded the digger’s bailing rate. Dug Wells @Irina Cech

15. @Photo by Irina Cech

16. @Photo by Irina Cech

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18. Groundwater is polluted from: • underground storage tanks • poorly constructed landfills • septic systems • fertilized fields • livestock feedlots • abandoned mines • salted roads, and • industrial areas.

19. Contaminated Ground Water

20. Pumping and Treating Contaminated Ground Water

21. Water well and latrine Slope @Irina Cech

22. Plugged well @Irina Cech

23. Drilled Wells Drilled wells penetrate about 100-400 feet or more into the bedrock. To serve as a water supply, a drilled well must intersect bedrock fractures containing ground water.

26. What are the effects of ground water contamination? Groundwater contaminated with bacteria, viruses, solvents and other industrial chemicals, pesticides, nitrates, gasoline, oil, and radio-nuclides, can result in serious health problems. These include: • numerous infectious diseases, • nervous system impairments, • cognitive disorders, • cancers, • kidney diseases, • cardio-vascular diseases, • birth defects, etc

27. How can you tell that ground water has became contaminated? • Basic tests for bacteria and nitrates are available. • More advance tests are required to analyze for metals, volatile organic compounds, semi-volatile organic compounds, PCB, pesticides, and radionuclides.

28. Contaminated Ground Water

29. Groundwater is polluted from: • underground storage tanks • poorly constructed landfills • septic systems • fertilized fields • livestock feedlots • abandoned mines • salted roads, and • industrial areas.

30. What are the effects of ground water contamination? Groundwater contaminated with bacteria, viruses, solvents and other industrial chemicals, pesticides, nitrates, gasoline, oil, and radionuclides, can result in serious health problems. These include: • numerous infectious diseases, • nervous system impairments, • cognitive disorders, • cancers, • kidney diseases, • cardio-vascular diseases, • birth defects, etc

31. How can we clean it up? • “Pump and treat.” Polluted groundwater is pumped from the soil or bedrock, treated to remove the contamination, and then pumped back into the ground. • Other approaches

32. Pumping and Treating Contaminated Ground Water

33. Source Water Protection is a process that enables citizens to protect local groundwater supplies which serve as a source for drinking water.

34. Dug wells are holes in the ground dug by shovel or backhoe. Historically, a dug well was excavated below the groundwater table until incoming water exceeded the digger’s bailing rate. Dug Wells @Irina Cech

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36. Dug Wells • Since it is so difficult to dig beneath the ground water table, dug wells are not very deep - typically, only 10 to 30 feet deep. • Being so shallow, dug wells have the highest risk of becoming contaminated. @Irina Cech

37. Experts suggest the following distances as a minimum for protection — farther is better (see graphic on the right): Septic Tanks, 50 feet Livestock yards, silos, septic leach fields, 50 feet Petroleum tanks, liquid-tight manure and fertilizer storage and handling, 100 feet Manure stacks, 250 feet To keep your well safe, you must be sure possible sources of contamination are not close by.

38. Water well and latrine Slope @Irina Cech

39. Plugged well @Irina Cech

40. Driven wells can be deeper than dug wells. They are typically 30 to 50 feet deep and are usually located in areas with thick sand and gravel deposits where the ground water table is within 15 feet of the ground’s surface. Although deeper than dug wells, driven wells are still relatively shallow and have a moderate-to-high risk of contamination from nearby land activities. Driven Wells

41. Drilled Wells Drilled wells penetrate about 100-400 feet or more into the bedrock. To serve as a water supply, a drilled well must intersect bedrock fractures containing ground water.

42. Types of water well uses and formal definitions • Private well • Public well • Community well; • Irrigation well; • Livestock watering well; • Industrial well; • Monitoring well; • Abandoned or stand-by well

43. What could you do to protect ground water quality? @Irina Cech

44. Private, individual wells are the responsibility of the homeowner. To help protect your well, have your water tested periodically. It is recommended that water be tested every year for total coliform bacteria, nitrates, total dissolved solids, and pH levels. If you suspect other contaminants, test for those. Always use a state certified laboratory that conducts drinking water tests. Since these tests can be expensive, spend some time identifying potential problems. What You Can Do

45. Testing more than once a year may be warranted in situations if: • someone in your household is pregnant or nursing • there are unexplained illnesses in the family • your neighbors find a dangerous contaminant in their water • you note a change in water taste, odor, color or clarity • there is a spill of chemicals or fuels into or near your well • when you replace or repair any part of your well system • after the flood

46. Do a survey around your well: • is there livestock nearby? • are pesticides being used on nearby agricultural crops or nurseries? • do you use lawn fertilizers near the well? • is your well "downstream" from your own or a neighbor's septic system? • is your well located near a road that is frequently salted or sprayed with de-icers during winter months? • do you or your neighbors dispose of household wastes or used motor oil in the backyard, even in small amounts?

47. If any of these items apply… it may be best to have your water tested and talk to your local public health department or agricultural extension agent to find way to change some of the practices which can affect your private well.