Where does our water come from?

All of our freshwater starts as precipitation, which moves continually through the hydrologic cycle.

When it rains on land, where does our water go?

• Water that travels and collects on top of the ground is called surface water.

• Water that infiltrates into the ground is called groundwater.

• Often, surface water recharges (or fills up) the groundwater.

What is a permeable area?

• It's a material that water can pass through

• This includes soil, sand, gravel, and cracked rock

• If a rock or clay area does not let water in, it is called impermeable.

What is an aquifer?

• An area underground that holds a lot of water.

• It is usually made of gravel, sand, and permeable rock.

• People often drill wells into an aquifer to get water for drinking and farming.

What is a watershed?

• An area where all runoff drains or "sheds" into the same water systems

• Usually, this water system is the local rivers that move the water around.

Water can't travel uphill, so...

• A watershed area is determined by topography (surface features of the land)

• If two people live on opposite sides of a divide, you live in two different watersheds!