What is Groundwater? / Groundwater engineering / Importance / scope of groundwater engineering
1. Groundwater :-
Groundwater is the water present in the cracks and spaces in soil or rocks below the surface of earth.
OR
Water that is found under the ground in soil, rocks, etc.
OR
Groundwater is the water present beneath earth's surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formation.
2. Groundwater Engineering:
3. Why is groundwater so important?
1. Groundwater is a very important sources of water for Irrigation.
2. Groundwater represents about 30% of world's fresh water and from other 70%, nearly 69% is captured in the polar ice ( snow/glaciers ) and nearly 1% is found in river and lakes. Groundwater counts in average for one third of the fresh water consumed by humans, but at some parts of the world, this %age can reach up to 100%.
3. Groundwater is also important for industries and home use.
4. Groundwater is a very impotent natural resource and has a significant role in the economy.
5. In general groundwater is a reliable source of water for the agriculture and can be used in a flexible manner: when it's dry and there is larger demand more groundwater can be extracted and when the rain fall meets the necessities, less groundwater will need to be extracted.
6. For the environment groundwater plays a very important role in keeping the water level and flow into rivers, lakes, ponds, and wetlands. Specially during the drier months when there is little direct recharge from rainfall, it provides the environment with groundwater flow through the bottom of these water bodies and becomes essential for wild life and plants living in these environment.