The Quality of the Nation’s Groundwater: Progress on a National Survey
Groundwater is one of the most important water resources in the entire world. The world’s population that relies on groundwater for drinking water as these groundwater systems offers about 50% of the total drinking water. However, the resource is at risk as the demand for water is increasing each and every new day and thus the groundwater exploitation has greatly increased at a higher rate than it is being recharged. This has therefore raised a concern to groundwater managers as the groundwater systems are becoming replenished. Groundwater quantity is essential in the supply of water to the people but quality is as much essential as the quantity. This paper, therefore, will present and discus on the quality of the groundwater system basing on the assessment by the national water quality survey project.
Regular groundwater quality assessment is a critical element that helps the resource managers in understanding the manner in which the aquifers are contaminated. With this kind of knowledge, they are thus able to come up with better decisions in making sustainable groundwater systems (Wilson 2017). The assessment of water is not only essential in providing information to the groundwater managers only but it is also an informative approach to public health sector. Thus the public health practitioners are able to determine the type of contaminants that in a given aquifer and thus they are usually able to come up with the best water treatment strategy thus improving the human health.
There are various factors that determine the quality of groundwater and give the rationale on the susceptibility to the contamination of the groundwater in different aquifers across the world. These factors may be the geological composition, hydrology, chemical, geochemistry as well as the water use. The USSG groundwater assessment is a viable one as it involves a comparison of the past, present and a prediction on the quality of groundwater in the future can be made. This assessment is as well feasible since it not only addresses the national aquifers but it compares sample aquifers on regional and compares it with the national statistics.
Groundwater contaminants have contributed to the high cases of health issues as they majorly affect the human health standards. Among the contaminants that contribute to the poor quality of water in groundwater systems geologic contaminant sources are the central common contaminants that exceed the human health standard (Wilson 2017). Other contaminants also contribute towards affecting the quality of groundwater. Therefore with the assessment of these aquifers solutions to reverse this ground water poor quality issue can be predicted as the source of these contaminants are known. Human activities are the major contributing factors to the contamination of the groundwater systems as compared to the other contaminant sources. The world is globalizing and thus the industrialization, overpopulation, waste disposal rate as well as urbanization rate has contributed to the contamination of the aquifers.
In conclusion, the quality of the groundwater system therefore is critical in the management of groundwater resources. Though the resource is invisible, it is very essential and thus it should be conserved through balancing the rate of recharge and exploitation. It is thus the role of each and every individual to ensure that they all play their role in using of the groundwater responsibly and sustainably so as to ensure that the quality of the ground water is maintained.
References
Wilson J. (2017). The Quality of the Nation’s Groundwater: Progress on a National Survey. United States Geological Survey. Accessed 19th January, 2017. Retrieved from: https://www.usgs.gov/news/quality-nation-s-groundwater-progress-a-national-survey
