National Groundwater Awareness Week

Groundwater Facts & References

Groundwater provides an estimated*

*From the United States Geological Survey, the National Ground Water Association, the Texas Water Development Board, and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality

In addition:

• Ninety-two percent of Texans depend on public drinking water supplies. Nineteen percent of that supply, 1,027 million gallons per day, is from groundwater, serving over 5,428,588 Texans.
• There are 13,818 active public water supply wells in Texas ranging in depth from 18 to 5,407 feet.
• Nine major aquifers and 22 minor aquifers supply 62% of all the water used in the state.
• Also, 1,320,000 Texans rely on groundwater from their own wells for their drinking water and use 137 million gallons per day.
• The quality of Texas’ groundwater is generally good, and after the required disinfection, it meets the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s safe drinking water standards without additional treatment.

Only 2.5% of the water on the earth is fresh. Of this small amount, 68.9% is glaciers, 30.8% is groundwater, and lakes and rivers make up only 0.3% (https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/WeighingWater).

Get your own 2020 National Groundwater Awareness Week Flyer (PDF)!

For more information on groundwater visit:

• Texas Groundwater Protection Committee at https://www.tgpc.texas.gov/ and its Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) at https://tgpc.texas.gov/frequently-asked-questions-faqs/
• Ground Water Protection Council at http://www.gwpc.org/
• Groundwater Foundation at https://www.groundwater.org/
• NGWA National Groundwater Awareness Week at https://www.ngwa.org/get-involved/groundwater- awareness-week/groundwater-awareness-week-2020
• USGS Groundwater Information by Topic at https://www.usgs.gov/special-topic/water-science- school/science/groundwater-information-topic?qt-science_center_objects=0#qt- science_center_objects and its Estimated Use of Water in the United States in 2015 at https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/cir1441
• TWDB 2017 State Water Plan at http://www.twdb.texas.gov/waterplanning/swp/2017/index.asp

Source: Texas Commission on Environmental Quality