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Our transcription: Life demands water, and groundwater is an immensely important natural resource. Groundwater is recharged by the infiltration of rain and snow and surface water into the fractures and pores in rocks. Rocks that are both highly porous and permeable make the best quality aquifers, and will contain the most abundant groundwater supplies. Aquifers are vital to the water supplies of both cities and farms, but many are being threatened by problems that need to be addressed now if these aquifers are to be maintained and used by future generations. They are in danger of being depleted, not only by a rapidly rising demand for water, but also by wasteful water use practices. Large-scale land subsidence is a dramatic reminder that the problem of over-pumping has been poorly addressed in the past. Aquifers are also in danger of pollution, a problem closely associated with our mounting waste disposal needs and also the increasing toxicity of our waste products.
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