Groundwater has been used in California since the
first inhabitants began using water that seeped from
springs. As more people settled in California, they
used more groundwater and eventually established
an agricultural, municipal and industrial economy
that is heavily dependent on the use of groundwater
and groundwater basins.
In some areas, use of that resource is threatened by
high rates of extraction and inadequate recharge, or
by contamination of aquifers as a result of land use
practices. Management of groundwater resources is
more complex than management of surface water
resources, because groundwater is not visible.
Harold E. Thomas said, “The science of hydrology
would be relatively simple if water were unable to
penetrate below the Earth’s surface.”
Despite the complexity of evaluating groundwater
movement through rocks, the occurrence and
movement of groundwater through rocks and
sediments in groundwater basins can be explained
by the same natural and physical laws that govern
surface water.
Eleven frequently talked-about groundwater topics
are discussed in this Water Facts.