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Article: Groundwater: our hidden endangered resource.
- Article from:
- Current Events, a Weekly Reader publication
- Article date:
- January 1, 1996
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1996 Weekly Reader Corp. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Most of us have seen polluted streams and lakes. But one of the biggest threats to our drinking water is invisible, because the water itself is underground. We asked Dr. Katta J. Reddy, a senior research scientist at the Wyoming Water Resources Center, to explain what groundwater is and why it needs to be protected.
What is groundwater?
Usually groundwater is defined as the water trapped in the pores beneath the soil, in the pores in the rocks. It supplies our nation's wells and springs. Groundwater moves like a river--fast at one place, and slowly at other places.
Why is it important?
Fifty percent of our population depends on groundwater. But ...