What is Ground Water?
Groundwater
is water that occurs below the Earth's surface at depths where all the
pore (open) spaces in the soil, sediment, or rock are completely filled
with water. All groundwater, whether from a shallow well or a deep well,
originates and is replenished (recharged) by precipitation. Groundwater
is part of the hydrologic cycle, originating when part of the
precipitation that falls on the Earth's surface sinks (infiltrates)
through the soil and percolates (seeps) downward to become groundwater.
Groundwater will eventually come back to the surface, discharging to
streams, springs, lakes, or the oceans, to complete the hydrologic
cycle.
Groundwater is one of Florida’s most valuable natural resources.
Usable quantities of potable groundwater can be obtained throughout the
state, with the exception of a few places, most of which are near the
coasts. About 93 percent of Florida’s population depends on groundwater
for drinking water. Florida ranked fifth in the nation in the use of
fresh groundwater in 1995. Because of its abundance and availability,
groundwater is the principal source of freshwater for public supply and
domestic (rural) and industrial uses. Of the total freshwater used in
Florida in 1995, 60 percent was groundwater.
All of Florida is in the Coastal Plain physiographic province, a
region of low relief underlain by unconsolidated to poorly consolidated
sediments and hardened carbonate rocks. Florida is covered nearly
everywhere by sands that overlie a thick sequence of limestone and
dolomite. Together, the surficial sands and the limestone and dolomite
form an enormous groundwater reservoir that provides more available
groundwater than any other state.
The Hydrologic Cycle
