This description of a ground-water aquifer has a graphic representation to accompany it. It is part of the U.S. Geologic Survey's Water Science for Schools website. Links to other parts of the site, such as definitions and types of wells, are included.
This image is part of the U.S. Geological Survey's Water Science for Schools website. Other imagery includes photographs of water being measured and sampled, being used in various ways, and illustrations of how human activity influences the water system. Written descriptions of activities being shown are provided. Links to other parts of the Water Science for Schools website are also present.
In this scenario-based activity, students design ways to either clean a water source or find a new water source, depending on given hypothetical family scenarios. They act as engineers to draw and write about what they could do to provide water to a community facing a water crisis. They also learn the basic steps of the engineering design process.
This activity looks at physical models of groundwater and how environmental engineers determine possible sites for drinking water wells. During this activity, students will create their own groundwater well model using a coffee can and wire screening. The students will add red food coloring to their model to see how a pollutant can migrate through the groundwater into a drinking water resource.
Drinking water comes from many different sources, including surface water and groundwater. Environmental engineers analyze the physical properties of groundwater to predict how and where surface contaminants will travel. In this lesson, students will learn about several possible scenarios of contamination to drinking water. They will analyze the movement of example contaminants through groundwater such as environmental engineers must do (i.e., engineers identify and analyze existing contamination of water sources in order to produce high quality drinking water for consumers).
