The Groundwater Resource provides a brief overview of groundwater as a critical water supply, emphasizing its global significance, hydrogeologic characteristics, and widespread reliance for drinking water and irrigation. This video is an excerpt from the seminar “Introduction to Groundwater Contamination”, presented to the UC Berkeley Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in September 2021.

Key Topics Covered:

• Aquifers and Aquitards – Understanding the alternating geologic layers that store and transmit groundwater.
• Municipal and Private Wells – Case study of New Jersey, where deep aquifers supply entire towns through high-capacity wells and water towers.
• Groundwater Flow & Pumping – How wells draw water from aquifers, influencing regional flow patterns and availability.
• Extent of Groundwater Use in the U.S. – An astonishing 16 million wells pump 80 billion gallons per day, supplying vast portions of the population.
• Groundwater as a Global Resource – 99% of all liquid fresh water on Earth is groundwater, and it serves as the sole water source for 2.5 billion people worldwide.
• Irrigation & Drinking Water Supply – Nearly 50% of the world’s drinking water and a major share of agricultural irrigation depend on groundwater.