groundwater awareness week logoNational Ground Water Awareness Week is an annual, weeklong observance established by the National Ground Water Association to highlight the responsible development, management, and use of water.  Established in 1999, #GWAW provides an opportunity for people to learn about the importance of groundwater and how the resource saves lives.

In honor of this important week, I’d like to share some facts about the Distribution of the water on Earth – 

  • Ocean water: 97.2%
  • Glaciers and other ice: 2.15%
  • Groundwater: 0.61%
  • Fresh water lakes: 0.009%
  • Inland seas: 0.008%
  • Soil Moisture: 0.005%
  • Atmosphere: 0.001%
  • Rivers: 0.0001%

Surface water is far easier to reach, so this becomes the most common source of potable water. About 321 billion gallons per day of surface water is used by humans, and 77 billion gallons of groundwater is used each day.  While the amount of water that exists seem to be plentiful, the availability of water for human consumption is limited – remember to keep conserving!

Thanks,

Mike