User:Hughesdarren/Groundwater Pollution

Goundwater Pollution occurs when a pollutant reaches an aquifer making the water unclean or unsuitable for particular purpose. The pollutant can can either be a chemical substance or a microbial organism. Pollution mostly results from human activities but can also result from naturally occuring mineral deposits is soils and rocks.

Land use often has an affect on shallow groundwater where chemicals or microorganisms can filter through the soil and enter the water table. The closer the water table is to the surface and the sandier the soil the more likely this is to occur. Groundwater found deeper or in confined aquifers with layers of rock or clay above that do not allow water to percolate through are less susceptable to pollution as no direct connection with the surface environment exists.