Groundwater Vocabulary

Question 1

Surface Water

Answer 1

water found on the surface of the earth

Question 2

watershed

Answer 2

the region of land that supplies water to a river system (a river and all its tributaries together)

Question 3

runoff

Answer 3

rainwater that does not soak into the ground; it flows down land forms where it collects in bodies of water on earth’s surface

Question 4

groundwater

Answer 4

water found in the open spaces (pores) of soil and rock beneath the surface of the earth

Question 5

permeable rock

Answer 5

rock that contains many well-connected pores and allows groundwater to flow through it

Question 6

impermeable

rock

Answer 6

rock that has no interconnected pores and does not let groundwater flow through it

Question 7

porosity

Answer 7

the amount of space between the particles that make up the rock

Question 8

aquifer

Answer 8

a rock layer that stores ground water and allows it to flow

Question 9

water table

Answer 9

the top surface of the zone of saturation; it is sometimes underground and sometimes above ground

Question 10

recharge zone

Answer 10

the ground surface where water enters an aquifer

Question 11

saturation zone

Answer 11

below the water table where all spaces not filled with solid material fill with water

Question 12

zone of aeration

Answer 12

the upper portion of soil and rock that can be temporarily filled with water as the water enters the ground, but then moves deeper

Question 13

point-source

water pollution

Answer 13

a single identifiable and localized source of water pollution, waste water discharge into a stream

Question 14

non-point source

water pollution

Answer 14

pollutants introduced into surface or ground water that are without a specific location source, such as water flowing over a lawn that has been fertilized and into a drain