National Ground Water Awareness Week, March 7 to 13, is a time to recognize the importance of groundwater and water well stewardship to the nation’s future, the National Ground Water Assn. (NGWA) said.
NGWA emphasized a four-point stewardship message of groundwater protection, proper water well construction, regular well maintenance and regular water testing and treatment, if necessary.
Not only do about 12 million households nationwide rely on private wells for their water supply, many community water systems rely on groundwater in whole or part to meet water demands, and groundwater supplies much of the nation’s water for agricultural irrigation. Groundwater makes up about 95% of all available freshwater.
Everyone can easily become good stewards by protecting groundwater through the proper storage, use and disposal of hazardous household substances, NGWA said. These include common products such as gasoline and oil, paints and paint thinner, fertilizers, weed killers, pesticides and cleaning products.
