New York Groundwater
Did you know that groundwater provides one quarter of New Yorkers with their drinking water, totaling around 900 million gallons of water dailyWhen rain falls, some of the water ends up in lakes and rivers, some of it is used by plants, some of it evaporates back into the atmosphere, and some seeps through the ground into aquifers – large, natural underground water storage areas. Harmful bacteria and other pollutants present on the earth’s surface can be carried into groundwater supplies during a rainstorm.
Viewer Tip: Contamination of groundwater supplies can cause serious health problems and decrease the amount of available, useable drinking water. A major source of water quality problems is improperly functioning or failing septic systems. If you have a septic system or other private system for wastewater disposal, an easy way to prevent groundwater pollution in your area is to divert rain water runoff from downspouts and other areas away from your septic drainfield. This will prevent the runoff water from transporting pollutants from the septic drainfield into groundwater supplies as it soaks into the ground.
Seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter
(Sources: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.”Groundwater”. Available at: www.dec.ny.gov/lands/36064.html; The National Onsite Water Recycling Association, www.nowra.org)
