TLDR
World Water Day is an annual United Nations Observance. It was started in 1993 to draw awareness to people around the world who don't have access to safe water and to focus on the importance of freshwater.
This World Water Day the theme is - "Groundwater - making the invisible visible."
Groundwater is water found underground in aquifers, which are geological formations of rocks, sands and gravels that hold large quantities of water. It feeds into springs, rivers, lakes, wetlands, even into oceans - and its impact is visible everywhere.
Why is it important
A large percentage of freshwater in the world is groundwater and in many areas people rely solely on groundwater. It also supplies a large portion of the water that we use for drinking, sanitation, food production and industrial processes.
Protecting this invisible resource is crucial and at the forefront because reliance on groundwater has been steadily increasing and mismanagement could put a lot of communities at risk.
Benefits of groundwater
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One advantage of groundwater is that it is very high quality and requires much less treatment than water that is being processed at a water management facility.
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Groundwater is also at less of a risk to climate change because it is below the surface, so it is less likely to evaporate or be altered.
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If managed properly and fairly, it is an affordable source of water for communities that need it.
How to protect groundwater
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Use water wisely! The more we can all do to limit our water consumption, the better chance we have at managing our groundwater reserves
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Use clean products on our soil. What we use on our soil seeps down into our groundwater.
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Do your research. There is a lot to learn about groundwater, the management of it, and how you can support its preservation.
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Spread the word! This is a resource that is easy to overlook, hence the name of the theme this year. So helping to spread the word and inform a friend or two goes a long way.
To learn more about World Water Day and groundwater head over to their official website!
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