What’s the difference between groundwater and surface water?
Water is generally classified into two groups: surface water and groundwater. Surface water is just what the name implies; it is water found in a river, lake or other surface impoundment. This water is usually not very high in mineral content, and is often called “soft water” even though it is probably not. Surface water is exposed to many different contaminants, such as animal wastes, pesticides, insecticides, industrial wastes, algae and many other organic materials. Groundwater is water that is contained in a subsurface layer of soil or rock. There are many sources that recharge the supply of groundwater, including rain that soaks into the ground, rivers that disappear underground and melting snow. Because of the many sources of recharge, groundwater may contain any or all of the contaminants found in surface water as well as the dissolved minerals it picks up underground. However, groundwater commonly contains less contamination than surface water because the rock tends to act as a
