How does it hurt animals, plants or humans?
Contaminated groundwater can hurt animals, plants, or humans only if it is first removed from the ground by manmade or natural processes. In many parts of the world, groundwater is pumped out of the ground so it can be used as a source of water for drinking, bathing, other household uses, agriculture, and industry. In addition, groundwater can reach the surface through natural pathways such as springs. Contaminated groundwater can affect the quality of drinking and other types of water supplies when it reaches the surface. Contaminated groundwater can affect the health of animals and humans when they drink or bathe in water contaminated by the groundwater or when they eat organisms that have themselves been affected by groundwater contamination. How can we clean it up? Different approaches are used to clean up contaminated groundwater. Sometimes polluted groundwater is pumped from the soil or bedrock, treated to remove the contamination, and then pumped back into the ground. If contami
